I'll Never Let You Walk Alone
by VisualIDentificationZeta
Summary: HarmSinger SUMMARY: when one of his suggestions is used against him, Harm has to take on a difficult and challenging task, not knowning that it will change his life...... COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

TITLE: I'll Never Let You Walk Alone

AUTHOR: Vid Z.

PAIRING: Harm/Singer

SPOILERS: until Adrift 2, then it's AU.

TIMELINE: season 7

DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc of the TV show JAG are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this fic. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

AUTHOR'S NOTES #1: This fic has been in the works since September. It's taking place during an alternate Season 7 where Mac didn't return after 3 months and the Indonesia events never took place for her. I personally believe that with the right guidance Loren could've become the 2nd best lawyer, right after Harm, that's why I came up with the idea of having him mentor her, but this fic was actually written around one of the last scenes of this fic.

AUTHOR'S NOTES #2: in this fic Loren and Mac have a competition over Harm, jealousy playing a major role, but Mac will NOT be a monster at the end.

SUMMARY: when one of his suggestions is used against him, Harm has to take on a difficult and challenging task, not knowning that it will change his life.

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The Admiral blinked "You want to what!?"

Harm sighed internally. It wasn't such a strange request!

Okay, not something he'd ask for every day, but still not that strange.

"I wish to mentor LT Singer."

Cheggwidden just stared at him and then blurted "Why? I mean why would you want to mentor an already trained lawyer? Especially Singer?"

Harm took a deep breath. He had prepared himself for this question earlier, he knew it would come up at one point. "While the LT is a good lawyer she has the potential to become an excellent one. She just needs a little guidance and a..." Harm hesitated, he couldn't exactly say Loren needed an attitude adjustment. "new perspective and priorities. I want to help her attain it."

Cheggwidden took his glasses off and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He had a feeling where Harm was going with this, but had to make sure. "New perspective? Priorities? In what way? I need you to spell it out for me, CDR."

Harm sighed and looked down at his hands, which rested in his lap. There was no way out of saying it. But how to put it diplomatically?

"The LT needs to sort out her priorities."

The Admiral was being particularily obtuse. "Priorities? What the hell are you talking about, Mr. Rabb?"

Harm sighed again. He was just going to have to say it bluntly. "The LT needs to realise that the truth and justice are more important than wins."

The Admiral snorted in amusement. He was well aware of Loren's approach to law and what was most important to her. But he realised that Harm was right. She could become an excellent lawyer with the right mentor and of great value to the Navy. She just had to get her priorities straight.

"Very well, Commander. You will be partnered with her for every case in the next 6 months. After that time it will be re-evaluated whether the LT will need further mentoring." He pressed the intercom button "Tiner, get LT Singer in here." He turned back to Harm. "We'll get it over with right away."

Harm nodded and leaned back in his chair. This was the culmination of the last few weeks worth of thinking it over, debating it with himself, planning, observing Loren's tactics and strategy and making mental notes what would need to be improved. He had debated with himself for a long time if making her an even better lawyer was a good idea, but then decided that at least this way he could make her see that winning and climbing the ladder over bodies wasn't the way to go. He hoped she would agree. And mentoring her was the only way to do it. He just had to be subtle.

Knocking was heard and at the Admiral's prompt Loren entered the office, as composed, self-assured and arrogant as always.

She came to attention before the Admiral's desk and before she could've announced herself, the Admiral told her to take a seat.

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	2. Chapter 2

Flustered she sat down in the chair to Harm's right. She glanced at him, but he pretended not to have seen it.

She looked back at her CO as he started.

"I'm just going to jump right into it. Since you've been doing quite a good job these past few months, I've decided to pair you up with a senior attorney who will mentor you."

Loren glanced suspiciously at Harm, but he just sent her an innocent look, which made her frown harder. She obviously wasn't falling for it.

"The Commander's been observing your work for a while now and he says that you have enormous potential as a lawyer, but you need guidance and experience."

Loren's hackles raised. This sounded suspiciously like she was about to be babysat, and she was just opening her mouth to protest such an insulting decision, but Cheggwidden raised his hand, stopping her. "This is not the kind of mentoring beginners get. This is the advanced kind, more advanced than the one then-Major MacKenzie and later LT Roberts received from the Commander. We can see he is an excellent teacher, so you will be in good hands. You and the Commander will work as a team on regular cases, ranging from simple UA's to high profile cases, such as murder cases. You know what that means for your career should you prove yourself." he trailed off.

Loren snapped her mouth shut in surprise and sat up straighter. She did indeed know. High profile cases, being the partner of the best lawyer in the Navy, as his partner becoming visible to the press and to superiors and to all the people of influence, beside the perks like: working closely with a great looking guy for a while, pissing LtCol MacKenzie off because of Harm not spending all of his time with Mac when she returns, if she returns,... she could just see the promotions, commendations and advancements in her mind's eye. This wouldn't be so bad after all...

"After 6 months your progress will be evaluated and decided whether you will need further mentoring. Upon completing the mentoring you will be free to decide whether to continue to be partnered with the Commander or not. It will be fully your choice."

That brought a startled look on Harm's face, that had not been spoken of, much less agreed on, when they'd discussed Harm's proposal earlier. 'Just what is he up to?'

Chegwidden just sent Harm an evil, little grin.

Loren's reaction was the complete opposite: a bright, beaming smile, when it truly sank in what a boost her career had just gotten. Harm got distinctly uncomfortable upon seeing that happy, self-satisfied grin; fearful of what was to come and unsettled by the fact that he had realised right that second just how attractive she was, especially when she smiled.

"Yes, sir!" she chirped, making Cheggwidden's evil grin widen even more.

"Good." Cheggwidden drawled, feeling pretty good about himself. "That is all, dismissed!"

Harm and Loren got up, came to attention and left the office. Harm decided that for the prank that Cheggwidden had just pulled on him, he would make Cheggwidden lose what little hair he had left, while not endangering his own career. While Harm himself came up with the idea, the Admiral was enjoying it just too much!

When they stepped back into the bullpen Loren was so excited she was practically bouncing up and down. She turned to Harm and started reassuring him that he had made the best decision of his life, even better than joining the Navy. To say he was quickly losing surety into his own sanity would be correct. "I would just like to say what an honor it is to be your partner, sir, to work with the Navy's best lawyer. You won't regret this, CDR! I won't fail you and I'll work damn hard. You'll be proud of me, sir."

Harm found it quite funny how quickly and zealously she started kissing his ass, the usually aloof officer, but he had to put a stop to it, it was becoming unsettling, plus they were attracting unwanted attention.

"Okay, LT, quit while you're still ahead. Meet me in my office in ten minutes with files for all of your pending cases and we'll go through them."

"Yes, sir." chirped Loren and hurried off towards her office.

Harm was left standing there, just shaking his head bemusedly.

'What have I gotten myself into?'

Little did he know that his life was about to change dramatically. Forever.

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AN: I'm gonna have to do something about the length of these chapters, cause otherwise the next one will have about 5000 words...

Posting this so soon, cause the first one was too short.

I really hate it when it says that I have 2 reviews, but can view only 1...

sohard2c: I think these are all pretty good reasons why Singer would love this idea, hehe, don't you agree?

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You know what to do guys, press that little cute, violet button, saying "Go" right next to the screen that says "Submit Review", in the bottom left corner of the page. And then comment on the chapter.

I looooooooove comments on what happened in a particular chapter, like the one by sohard2c.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: sorry guys for making this one so short also, but the next part is 3 times longer and couldn't find a way to cut it in half and I am also posting 2 other fics at the same time (don't forget to review them all), which makes proof-reading a real pain in the eema. So, you'll get a 3-times longer part tomorrow.

This chappy is a binder of sorts, preparing the stage for the main part of the fic.

The next part is just Cheggwidden's introspection about Harm and Mac and you can see how it would clash with this part were they put together, because they are two completely different scenes.

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And so it happened. The partnership of Commander Rabb and Lieutenant Singer.

They didn't click immediately, but eventually they were working out quite well. And were getting quite good as a team the more time passed.

The Admiral had also noticed a solid, strong friendship being welded between the two, which was a natural side-effect of two people working so closely together so many hours a day, for months without interruption. Either that or them killing each other.

Cheggwidden was glad it was the former, but it was somehow weird to see Harm and Loren getting along so well. He felt like he had stepped into the Twilight Zone whenever he saw them conferring over a file, heads close together and genuine smiles on their faces.

Sure, it was awkward between them at first, which is completely normal when two people who have never worked that close before were suddenly thrust into such an extremely close situation, but they seemed to have gotten used to each other and to the other's constant presence.

And as far as the Admiral was aware, it was going quite well.

What the Admiral didn't know, however, was that it was mainly due to their conscious efforts in achieving just that. They had even went so far to get comfortable with each other that they had everything thought out and planned. Calling each other by first names, late nights in conference rooms in civilian clothes, time spent together off duty, either working on cases or just socializing, getting to know each other better, to lower their walls and let the other in. They had to know the other or they couldn't have made it work. To his great surprise Harm found out that Loren had quite the sense of humour and a quick wit and he enjoyed their discussions greatly. And for the first time had Loren realized just what flying meant to Harm and she even went flying with him a couple of times. Partially as part of their getting-to-know-each-other program and partially because she wanted to see what it's like. And when they landed she wanted to know (amidst the excited babbling) when they could to it again, or if he could take her up in a Tomcat.

Their friendship was working simply because they took each other as they were and had no expectations of each other, no romantic interest that would sully and sour it with sexual tension, something that Harm and Mac had from day one and that was one of the main reasons for the failure of their friendship. Harm and Loren were just simply friends who enjoyed the time spent together and nothing more and that was why it was working so well.

With Harm's advice and subtle prodding Loren was getting better and less win-oriented than she was before and results were already showing. He would sit second chair on some of her cases, while she sat second chair on all his cases so he could explain his strategy while they went along. Loren had scored some impressive victories over Bud, Harm's star student until now, by herself already and thus justified Harm's faith in her abilities. The team Rabb-Singer was quickly becoming notorious and feared among criminals and opposing lawyers alike.

And then somewhere during the third month of this unusual partnership (and even more unusual, but strong, friendship) the return of LtCol MacKenzie from her vacation on USS Guadalcanal happened.

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	4. Chapter 4

**AN: **something puzzles me. "A Sign of Possession" has at 15 parts over 7600 hits and 57 reviews, which is a record for me, but this is where the decline starts, "When love finds a fool" has just 2800 hits at 11 chapters, and this fic only 400 hits at 3 chapters? What's up with that? Do these two last fics really such that much?**  
**

**ElDani**: Tnx!

An explanation of the 'Mac from her vacation' comment: as stated in the starting AN, the events in Indonesia did not take place. In this universe Mac had never left the ship (I never saw the Indonesia ep so I don't know what possessed her to leave it in the first place), had practically nothing to do the whole time, she was able to switch her brain off, and was thus on 'vacation'. It was by no means meant as a vicious comment.

As for describing H&L getting to know each other... as also stated in AN, this fic was written around one of the last scenes of it (which is the longest scene of the whole fic) and I never intended to delve into how H&L's partnership and friendship evolved. All the events until then will be just setting the stage for the main events. Had I wanted to write about H&L's development between them then I would either have to write a whole new, very long, fic or this one wouldn't have been finished for months. As it was in the dry dock for almost 2 months, because I had a writer's block after the next part, I was anxious to finally get it done.

This fic is basically about competition between Mac and Loren over Harm, as we know jealousy can make people do ugly things, but I was careful to NOT make ANY of them into a monster.

**Syrae: **Tnx! As you know, unless something happens, I update every day. Today's update was late because I had 7 hours of classes.

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Due to the extremely tense situation between Harm and Mac, Cheggwidden was glad Harm had come up with the idea of Loren's mentoring all those months ago.

The Admiral knew months before, that he wouldn't be partnering Harm and Mac together any time soon once Mac returned from, whatever she was doing in the place she had hated most these past few years, since knowing Harm - an aircraft carrier.

Her hate of flying and of the pilot side of Harm is what caused the wide rift between the two former best friends. She had never forgiven him or stopped resenting him for going back to flight duty more than 2 years before.

She herself was never anything else but an administrator or a lawyer and couldn't understand what flying meant to Harm as she had never lived her dreams, not like Harm and the Admiral, who had lived their dreams and had them taken away from them.

The Admiral understood Harm and his need to go back to his true love and calling.

Flying was in Harm's blood and denying it would only have made the man miserable.

It was the same as with him and being a SEAL. No-one knew it, but Cheggwidden was miserable in his bureaucratic position and hated what he had become.

Mac never understood that, she had always been an admin officer, a bureaucrat. When it came to Harm she was selfish, she wanted him with only her, never willing to share him with someone or something else. Thus she resented Harm for changing his designator, for she saw only how it affected her, not anyone else, especially not how it affected and what it meant to Harm.

Harm HAD TO go back to flying, to prove to himself that he wasn't a failure, to close that chapter of his life in order to move on with it.

Flying wasn't a job to him, it was a calling, a calling he had spent his whole life preparing for, a legacy of his ancestors.

Flying was written in his very DNA and in order to accept Harm one has to accept it.

Should one deny, reject, hate or resent it, then one would be rejecting, hating, resenting Harm.

Cheggwidden knew and understood all of this, for that was how being a SEAL was with him, but on a lesser scale.

He wasn't 3rd generation like Harm was, he hadn't spent his whole life around it like Harm had from birth on with planes and flying; but he understood nonetheless.

Mac didn't, nor did she try to.

When she rejected and hated that part of Harm, she rejected and hated Harm himself, and for that Cheggwidden pitied her.

Because she just didn't understand how it is to find something you were _born _to do, she had never had that. Sure, being a lawyer was career for her, but it wasn't a part of her, it wasn't in her blood, her calling.

For as long as she kept up resenting and rejecting that part of him, she would never have anything more than friendship with Harmon Rabb, no matter how much she may want or think she wanted.

And that was the heart of the problem.

'But then' mused Cheggwidden 'none of Rabb's girlfriends that I've met was any different. Hehe, would Mac hate the thought of being in the same category as they. But that is the truth. The Pendry widow hates the Navy, and the flying especially, CDR Parker saw only the lawyer and Miss Petersen just wanted a good looking, highly decorated officer on her arm to make her look good before the public, her friends, enemies and strangers alike.'

'And when Harm came back Mac just kept punishing him for what she thought of his betrayal of her, while completely ignoring logic and the fact that people are transferred constantly in the military. She should've been aware of the fact that either one of them could be transferred out at any time. People are transferred almost regularily every 2 years and it is unheard of to be at the same post for more than 3 years, except if you are the CO!' Nobody knew that Cheggwidden was completely aware of what was happening in his own office. He was an Admiral, for crying out loud, of course he knew what was going on.

He saw Mac's Ice Queen attitude towards Harm and her fuzzy one towards Brumby. She had treated proven serial rapists better than she had treated the man who was the best friend she had ever had to her, but no matter how much abuse she threw at him, Harm still tried for friendship. And then came Sydney.

The Admiral didn't know what exactly had happened there, but it must've been private, dealing with their relationship. Or lack of it.

If it had, then Mac couldn't not have chosen a worse time for it.

Harm was a complete mess, privately and professionally still recovering from changing his designator for the last time. There was no way he would've been ready for a relationship that would take so much commitment and effort.

Mac didn't understand that, because due to the distance she had created between herself and Harm and maintained by always reminding him of her new rank, many times pulling it on him, she didn't know the man anymore, didn't understand him, if she ever did, didn't know what was happening with him and in his life, and out of this complete loss of knowledge and contact and this not-understanding of what Harm had meant, she striked back in anger by taking Brumby's ring. An action fueled and motivated by vengeance, the feeling of rejection and vindictiveness. The ring of the man Harm had hated since he had first seen him, even before Brumby had shown any interest in Mac. Mac truly did slide the knife in Harm's heart and then turned it. Twice.

What had happened over the next year and a half had just about destroyed their friendship permanently and left a rift miles wide between the two.

And then Mac's hate of flying reared it's ugly head again and almost killed Harm when she forced him into promising her to be at her wedding to Brumby.

Cheggwidden shook his head at the cruelty of the woman. Mac knew Harm had feelings for her and she knew what they were, but deliberately ignored or misread every sign and signal, trying to force him into a vocal declaration of them as she wouldn't take anything else. Even Cheggwidden himself had completely understood the signs and had seen how much Harm had loved her.

And yet, she not only did that, she also tried to force the man, who was so clearly in love with her, to be there to witness her wedding, her pledging herself, to another man.

Cheggwidden wouldn't have thought her being able of such cruelty, but it was a proven fact since it had happened. 'Rabb must've been dying inside in large chunks at once, during that time. I wonder still why he didn't come to me for a transfer. I would've arranged it so that it wouldn't had any negative effect on his career.'

'It's better that she took that TDY. I don't think the situation would've been bearable had she not. She had saved me from a tough decision by choosing where to tranfer each of them and break them up. I know work at the office would've been impossible, and due to what had happened there would've been no positive resolution. Now they have some space and time to cool off and think about their next steps.'

With Mac's TDY they had gotten the much-needed time away from each other, to cool off, think long and hard and make some decisions.

It had also given the Admiral a few months of respite. Contrary to ugly rumours, Harm wasn't the only one to make the Admiral lose what little hair he had left and push his blood pressure through the roof. Mac was just as bad as Harm and some time of peace, which came from one of them being away, was very welcomed.

Cheggwidden was just afraid of what would happen when Mac saw with her own eyes just how close Harm and the woman she called LT Witch had become.

Cheggwidden didn't know exactly what kind of feelings Mac had for her former partner, if they were something close to love or just possessivness stemming from working closely together for years, but he also knew that Mac had always been jealous when it came to Harm and other women, and there didn't need to be love for jealousy to exist. If she had loved Harm, why then would she have been so hell bent on marrying another man? The wedding hadn't taken place only because Brumby had called it off, while Mac still wanted it to go ahead.

Love or not, possessivness over Harm was undoubtebly there and Cheggwidden feared the time when Mac would be clued in on the new state of affairs. He was sure Loren would take great pleasure in baiting her adversary, for neither woman was particularily fond of the other and had always had some form of competition going.

Just this time the stakes were higher, for a man was now going to be the subject of this fierce competition. Harm was right in the middle of it and he had no idea of what was about to befall him.

Like most men, Harm was oblivious to women's subtle competition and battles when it came to him. And this obliviousness of the male of the species isn't due to a lack of intelligence or some illusion of women's superiority, since both genders are equal, it's simply because the two genders operate in two entirely different ways.

While the men are usually completely upfront and open in their competitions and confrontations (except for politicians who like intrigues and plots) and the consenquences are usually suffered only until all body parts heal; women are some times covert in their plots and fight dirty, with the combatants suffering the consenquences of these battles for years after that. And because men usually don't work that way they are not used to that kind of thinking, which means that they don't recognize it immediately when it is taking place simply because of that simple reason.

What it all came down to was, that Harm was about to become the subject of one of these battles and he had no idea.

Things were about to get hot.

(**AUTHOR'S NOTE --- READ THIS!!!!!**: This was definitely not meant mysoginistic, nor sexist, nor any thing like that.. It's what I've learnt after being the only guy in a class with 28 girls during high school for 2 years. **THIS DOES NOT MEAN IT APPLIES TO ALL WOMEN, JUST TO THOSE WHO WERE IN MY CLASS.** Thus being automatically an outsider, I had the chance and time to observe their interactions, sociology and hierarchy of the female contingent of my class. And what I've written is what I've learned. They usually fought dirty and plotted alot, quite the opposite of male hostility - physical fights. This leads me to believe that I had the unfortune to be in the same class with the worst part of the female population. **Now, I'm definitely not saying this is typical for the entire female population of this world, or even for a small part of it, definitely not, it may have been only for the girls in my class and I had the misfortune to witness this dark side.** _**BUT **for the purpose of this fic, let's say that it goes for Mac and Loren cause I need it that way_.)

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REVIEW PEOPLE! Reviews make me proof-read parts sooner, which means you get them sooner.


	5. Chapter 5

Mac started back on duty with little pomp or fanfare. She wanted it that way because of how things were when she'd left.

The situation between her and Harm was, understandably, pretty tense.

The new situation smacked her in the face the next day when she exited her office to get some more coffee from the break room.

She had just closed the door and turned around when she saw Harm and Loren exit the small room, walking close together, shoulders and arms brushing constantly, talking animatedly and laughing, generally giving off the impression of being the closest, most comfortable, friends in the world.

They both greeted her cheerfully and walked on, while she stood there speechless.

Baffled she turned to Bud who was talking to Harriet at a desk in the bullpen.

"Bud?"

"Yes, ma'am?"

"What was that all about?"

He frowned "What was what all about, ma'am?"

Mac expelled her breath angrily "Harm and Singer."

Bud still didn't see what she was trying to say. "Yes, ma'am? What about them?"

Mac barely resisted the urge to stomp and smack Bud for being so obtuse. "They were acting like they were... friends."

Now Bud finally got it. "Oh that, ma'am."

"Yes, _that_, Bud? When did it happen?"

"A couple of months ago. When they were partnered up."

Mac was shocked and stood there for a few seconds, just gaping. "Partners? Harm is partnered with LT Witch!?"

Bud glanced around in fear. "Shhh, ma'am, please talk quiter. And whatever you do, don't use that name around here, especially if the CDR is around."

Mac stared hard at him, fed up with not getting any real answers. "Stop beating around the bush and spill it, LT!"

Bud motioned for them to move into her office and she complied. When they were in and had closed the door he finally started talking.

"Well, since the Commander was without a partner he and the Admiral decided to partner him with LT Singer. No one knows exactly what happened or why, but it did. The CDR was overheard a couple of times saying about the LT having a great potential. Anyway, they've been partners ever since and what is even more amazing, they have recently been on a winning streak a mile wide."

Mac's eyebrows were into her hairline. "Really?"

Bud nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, ma'am. Though, they did have problems at first. Who wouldn't? But after a while they seemed to click. Really click. Then they started beating other lawyers here at HQ. Completely cleaned out the house. Now they are systematically working their way through every JAG office. It almost seems like as if they are trying to meet new techniques and find tactics against them. Privately speaking, ma'am, it looks to me like the CDR is mentoring the LT."

Mac looked at him incredulous before she burst out. "He's mentoring her? IS HE CRAZY!? No, don't answer that. He must be if he's doing that. The last thing we need is for her to get better."

Bud grunted in agreement. "Yes, ma'am. And it looks like that's not all he's teaching her."

The moment he heard what had left his mouth he wished he hadn't spoken at all. He realized what it sounded like when he saw Mac's cheeks turn pink in rage and, he could swear it, her eyes turned green. Immediately he tried to correct his error, not wanting his superior officer and friend to meet an untimely demise because of a few misunderstood words. Jealous women are a fearsome thing and Mac had proven time and again that she was prone to jealousy when it came to Harm. Jealous women are also more fearsome than mama-bears defending their young. Many lives, families and careers were destroyed by them.

"NO! I didn't mean it that way. Definitely not!" he hurried. Then to himself he mumbled "Although they do seem rather close." He glanced at Mac quickly and was relieved to see she hadn't heard him. "What I meant is, she doesn't seem that ruthless anymore. It looks like as if she is starting to care more for the truth and justice than for wins."

Mac's hard stare made him uncomfortable. "You're actually trying to tell me that Harm is rubbing off on LT Witch?" she winced at the phrase 'rubbing off' and at the mental image of Harm and Loren it had conjoured. This mental image was especially lifelike with the display she saw just minutes ago. "That she is starting to care for some things more than she does about her career?"

Bud nodded and shrugged sheepishly. "Yes, ma'am."

Mac was stumped "Huh."

Bud quickly excused himself and left, Mac still standing there.

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AN: thanks for the reviews, keep at it!


	6. Chapter 6

Over the next few weeks a quiet competition ensued.

Both women tried to stake a claim and show to the other what they meant to Harm, how much influence and what importance they had in his life.

Loren scored round 1 with the physical closeness she and Harm shared and how casually they touched each other.

She and Harm had become close friends during the past few months and touching each other casually was an everyday thing to them by now. So was standing close enough to be in a physical contact with each other.

Loren used every day and every way she could. Especially during the times when she knew she and Harm had Mac's attention.

One such occassion was about 3 weeks after Mac's return.

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Harm and Loren were in his office, looking at something on the computer screen.

Harm was in his chair and Loren was standing behind him, looking over his shoulder.

Suddenly Loren felt someone watching her and discreetly raised her eyes, scanning the bullpen through the opened blinds.

Finally she spotted the observer and her suspicions were confirmed.

Mac stood there, near the double doors of the bullpen, glaring at her.

Loren smirked to herself and immediately formed a plan in her head, a plan to irritate the LtCol.

Casually she leaned forward even further and put her hand on Harm's shoulder.

Harm didn't even react to such a gesture, proving how used he was to them, and Loren saw Mac scowl heavier than before. She was definitely not pleased with her former partner's behaviour!

Loren then moved her hand towards Harm's neck, making sure Mac saw everything.

Then she started slowly caressing his neck, lightly dragging her fingernails over the skin, causing goosebumps to rise all over his back.

Harm had always had a pretty sensitive neck and the pleasure he was getting from that simple touch was amazing. He wasn't sure what was going on, why she was caressing him, while at work, but he enjoyed that simple caress and he didn't want it to stop, so he was quiet and pretended not to notice, in case she hadn't realized she was doing it or would get the idea that he didn't like it if he said anything.

Over the past few weeks Loren had occasionally executed more than just a casual touch, something that he had noticed, like picking a lint off his clothes or straightening his tie, all very proprietary gestures, while it could also be taken completely innocently. Something a wife would do to her husband. Or a best friend to their best friend.

The caress, though, was new. He wasn't sure what to think of it or what to think of what it meant, but physically he liked it very much.

He just didn't know it was used to make a point.

Loren suddenly lightly scratched at his necks with her nails and a powerful shiver went through Harm's body. She smiled a pleased smile at the effect she had on him. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw steam practically coming out of Mac's ears before the older woman turned on her heels and left, proving that Mac had also seen Harm shiver in pleasure.

Mac was fuming, how did that woman dare touch her Harm like that? Harm was supposed to be Mac's safe bet! He was supposed to wait for her to decide she finally wanted to give it a real try for a relationship. And now that blonde witch came in and just took everything over, taking what Mac believed belonged to her.

She would not give in that easily, though, the war was on!

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	7. Chapter 7

Mac had tried to even the score when she talked to Harm once, within Loren's hearing distance, and remembered him of the friendship they'd once had and how close they were. Loren interfered and made it a point to tell Mac of how close she and Harm had gotten since Mac had ran away and left him behind. Neither had won a score for that one, because it was a draw.

The rest of the staff followed these showdowns with bated breath. Harriet and Bud had decided to stay neutral. While they, especially Harriet, believed that Harm and Mac belonged together, both had to admit that Mac wasn't the one who had made Harm show his old smile for the first time since he'd left JAG. It was Loren who had received that smile and not Mac. They didn't want to hurt Mac and tell her the truth, so they kept quiet and stayed away from the whole thing. Sturgis was still the new gun in town, didn't really know Mac or the situation, was an old friend of Harm, and therefore was more behind Harm than anything else. Cheggwidden was floating above the scene, getting updates and reports on the going-ons from his vigilant yeoman, who was running the betting pools for the enlisted staff on what would happen next and which woman would win in the end, and was thus aware of the competition, but he chose to do nothing.

While Harm's seemed an enviable position, to be fought over by two very beautiful women, Cheggwidden knew it was the exact opposite. Harm was being used as a pawn in an ongoing hostility between these two so-alike females, and being a pawn was not enviable. Still, Cheggwidden knew that the main pawn-user, Singer, cared for Harm and would not abuse him or their friendship, she just never liked Mac, which was reciprocated. The fact that, in the course of the latest competition, Loren had never done anything that would hurt him, physically or emotionally, even more, she bestowed pleasure upon him, said it all about his importance for her. And this caring for him and Harm's importance to Loren was a big surprise to everyone on the staff.

Thus it was clear that once Loren would figuratively stop playing with him, Harm would not go back into the box with the other toys, but she would hold him lovingly to her chest and carry him to bed with her, to sleep with her.

Just figuratively of course, not literally.

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Loren decided to strike 2 weeks after her latest performance, when they were all working in the conference room, attending a staff meeting, that had been going on for more than 5 hours. It was one of those monthly meetings, in which they discussed past cases, efficiency, suggestions, changes in SOPs, what was needed,... that required the almost entire officer and NCO staff of the HQ.

They were just taking a break, almost everyone else having gone to the bathrooms or to the break-room, leaving only Harm, Loren, Mac, Bud and Harriet.

Loren was stiff from hunching over files and the desk for hours on end and her shoulders hurt.

Her muscles were in knots hard as a rock and she desperately needed relief.

She glanced around and her eyes fell on Harm.

During those long working evenings at each other's homes, they had sometimes massaged each other's shoulders to relieve the pain that had built up.

It had taken them a few months to get to the stage to be comfortable in initiating such an intimate contact by themselves, without prompting, and the first attempts were definitely awkward.

Later, as the got comfortable in doing it, Loren received probably the best massages of her life. Judging by how loud Harm groaned, it was just as good for him when she returned the favor. She loved the feel of the powerful muscles of his back and shoulders in her hands. She had tried to come up with an excuse to massage his front, namely stomach and chest, but failed. The ribbed stomach and powerful chest, that were so on display in his T-shirts, just called out to her hands to touch them.

Loren didn't contemplate nor want a physical relationship with Harm, she loved their friendship and it was enough for her, but neither was she blind. Harm was a gorgeous male specimen and touching him was a pleasure, because he was all hard muscle and very little fat. But, after how many hours and dedication Harm put into building his body and taking good care of it, the result was expected and much appreciated.

Suddenly a light went on for Loren.

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	8. Chapter 8

**Bree: **wow, thanks. I'm glad to see that I'm fulfilling one of the main reasons why I started writing fanfic: to give those who hate to see Harm acting as Mac's doormat a safe haven. You should join the Harm's Haven yahoo group, just Harm fans and absolutely no Harm flaming allowed. Just type HarmsHaven where the name of the group goes in the link for any yahoo group and join up.

**Syrae: **as I promised in PM, here it is. Hope you like it.

**ElDani: **Loren may be very competitive, but she's also very regs- and career-aware and ambitious, which is why she wouldn't have sex at work, especially not performing for audience. That would mean instant demotion and dishonorable discharge if not something worse. Besides, she and Harm are just friends still. Best and closest friend, but still just friends.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **and now to the reason for why the prev. chapter was so short... because this one is so long.

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She could get some relief from the pain and score a point against Mac.

After Harm had come back from talking to Bud and sat back down next to her (this was one of the biggest changes and demonstrations of their new friendship: they always sat together everywhere, which made Mac's eyes blaze. Especially the first time it had happened, when Mac had sat down and fully expected Harm to sit next to her, only to have to watch him as he sat down next to Loren. That was what had started the competition and the increased hostility between the two women).

Loren waited a few minutes to let him settle down and then groaned painfully.

That immediately got Harm's attention and, with her peripheral vision, she saw his head snap up from his file.

For added effect, she rolled her shoulders and whimpered with a low voice.

None of the others had noticed what was going on, or heard anything, because she made sure no-one but Harm could hear her.

Harm slowly put his papers back on the desk and leaned towards her. "Would you like for me to stop the pain?"

She looked at him, genuine gratefulness and affection shining in her eyes. "Please."

Harm nodded and stood up, positioning himself behind her.

Then his hands descended on her shoulders and Loren forgot everything, even her own name. He had magical fingers, just the right pressure and big, strong hands, soothing the pain away instantly.

Her whole world were just his hands and the pleasure he was evoking from her. She was not even aware of the loud groans and moans of ecstasy she was making.

But others had definitely heard her. Mac looked ready to kill someone, be it Loren or Harm or both. Bud flushed from embarrassment over hearing such primal sounds. Harriet wanted to run out of the room, but stayed in case she had to stop Mac from doing something rush and violent. And Harm...

Harm was flushed. From embarrassment and something else. The way he tilted his hips away from the other 3 in the room would've been a good hint had anyone paid attention to him.

Sure, Loren was a very beautiful woman, probably among the 2 most beautiful he had ever seen, and what was even stranger was the fact that she was growing more beautiful to him with every day; but he had never thought of her sexually. As a sexual partner.

But with the groans and moans of ecstasy she was emmitting he couldn't help but imagine what she would look like, underneath him, naked, sweaty, flushed, her head thrown back as he brought these sounds out of her.

'Shit!' these thoughts made HIM groan and had, what little of his blood had still remained in his brain, rush due south. But he couldn't just stop until he had accomplished his goal and none of the knots remained in her shoulders. He was also uncomfortably aware of Mac's angry glare directed at them. When he had asked Loren if he could help her he was aware of how Mac would react, but he couldn't just let Loren suffer. He knew how shoulders can hurt and cared for her too much to let it go on, if he could prevent it. She was his best friend, after all.

Finally the last of the knots was dissolved under his ministrations and she collapsed limply on the table before her, with her head buried in her arms.

Harm leaned forward and whispered into her ear. "Better now?"

Loren's lips curled into a satisfied, almost satiated, smile. "I think I have an urge for a cigarette. Which is weird since I don't smoke."

His amusement died at hearing that and he gulped.

She heard Harm settle back down into his chair and sneaked a peek at the others. Mac looked like she was about to burst a blood vessel and the Roberts' looked like they wanted to be anywhere else but there. Loren then leaned back in her chair and turned to Harm. He was still slightly red in his face and a quick glance towards his lap confirmed her suspicion, much to her surprise. She had not expected that that simple massage would have as much effect on him as it had on her, more importantly, she had not expected that SHE would have such an effect on him. She had realized only too late that she was making noises, noises which could be misinterpreted as noises of sexual pleasure, which had made her embarrassed, but the knowledge that simple noises from her could arouse Harm so quickly and so thoroughly, was very flattering. She couldn't help herself, so she grabbed him by his lapel with one hand and pulled him closer, bestowing a tender kiss on his cheek. 'He definitely deserves it after giving me such a wonderful massage!'

"Thank you, Harm, that was wondeful."

She smiled wider when she heard Mac's grunt of rage at her gesture and thought. '2 : 0 for me.'

She smiled even wider when she saw him blush, even as a pleased smile spread across his face.

She took a moment to wipe the lipstick off his cheek 'No need for the Admiral to reprimand him.', let go of him, and then she leaned back in her chair and watched him with smug satisfaction over his reaction.

Harm sat back, still dazed from the feel of Loren's full, warm and soft lips on his cheek, and from seeing the caring and the affection in her eyes, with his blood singing in his veins from the nearness of her body. She had been close enough for him to feel the heat radiating off of her body and it hadn't left him unaffected.

He shook his hand, centering himself again. 'Stop it, Rabb! It was just a friendly kiss, hell even Harriet had kissed me on the cheek a few times. It doesn't mean anything. Loren is your best friend and best friend do stuff like that.'

That did it and Harm calmed himself down, knowing it was the truth and that it was nothing more than a friend thanking a friend.

Just then the door opened and the rest of the staff walked back in, followed by the Admiral, signaling the end of the break.

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	9. Chapter 9

**AN: **Thank you all for reading and reviewing. Parts of this chapter were influenced by sohard2c's and ElDani's reviews. Thanks, guys, for the inspiration!

**sohard2c: **I think this chapter should answer your question. Enjoy!

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"So, Tiner." said the Admiral when Tiner brought him some files. "What's the latest news?"

Tiner quickly put down the files in his hand and whipped out a small notebook. He shuffled through the pages and soon found what he was looking for. "Well, sir, according to the latest gossip, LT Singer and CDR Rabb had sex on the conference room table while the rest of us were on our break. Supposedly LtCol Mackenzie and both LT's Roberts were present and cheered them on. According to what floats around, Singer and Rabb went at it 3 times in a row and during the last time LtCol Mackenzie participated on her own insistance."

He looked at his notebook with a lot of scepticism, he couldn't imagine Mac participating in such a thing. She'd sooner break them up (after castrating Harm) and then execute each of them with a shot in the back of the head than participate.

He was broken out of his thoughts by Cheggwidden's snorting. He looked up and saw the old man barely restraining full-blown guffaws.

"Participating? HAHAHA." the Admiral roared with laughter, tears streaming from his eyes. "Mac would sooner hold fraternization trial right there and then, being the judge, the jury and the executioner herself than participate in something like that with Singer!"

Tiner allowed himself a small grin, fully agreeing with his CO. The LtCol was rather... er... uptight... about some matters (while pretty loose about others, like keeping her marriage vows, and this, and other, indiscretion of her was well known among the staff, especially since it was brought up during a public trial) and right now neither Rabb nor Singer were her favorite people. "Aye, sir! Well, according to another gossip, Mackenzie and Singer are lovers and are using the CDR and this charade to provide cover for their illicit affair."

Cheggwidden shook his head, what will people come up with next! Mac and Singer lesbians!? Someone should have their heads checked.

"Now, Petty Officer, what is the state of the pools?"

"Pools, sir?" Tiner's innocent eyes (he practiced in front of a mirror until he got it right!) blinked at him.

"Don't give me that look! I know you run the betting pools in this office. I'm not going to shut you down, I just want to know what they say." said Cheggwidden, still in good humor.

"Ah." Tiner put his little book back and fished another one out of his pocket. This one was older-looking, full of papers stuffed into it and obviously quite worn out. "Well, sir, there are older and newer pools still going."

"Give me a recap."

"Aye, sir. The older pools still consist of LtCol Mackenzie and CDR Rabb getting together, but people are losing interest in them due to the development of the last few months. Just the basic stuff: when they will get together, if they already are together,... The newer ones are pretty interesting, though."

"Oh?" Cheggwidden's eyebrow rose.

"Yes, sir. There are of course the standards: the date of getting together, first having sex,... But some of them are quite interesting. There are pools that Singer and Rabb have been married for the last 10 years, from before the CDR came to the HQ when he was still a pilot and that she got him through the rehabilitation, and they have 3 kids, a big house in the suburbs and a dog. Apparently someone saw them with a blonde child, who was about 2 years old, in some park, and since the LT is blonde the connection was easily made, and they were having a family outing. According to this, the reason why the CDR had bought his SUV, instead of another Corvette, is because the LT was pregnant with the seen child and gave birth just before coming to the HQ. There is another pool that says that the LT is at present time pregnant with the CDR illegitimate triplets."

"Really?" this was getting interesting and Cheggwidden had to find out more. "If the last one turns out to be the true, which I highly doubt, then we'll have an assault-rifle-wedding, starring Rabb and Singer, before she gives birth. Go on. What else is there?"

Tiner shuffled a few pages again. "Well, there is one pool that says that the LT and the CDR are in reality siblings."

Tiner and Cheggwidden both grimaced at that idea. Even though the two officers in question were obviously just friends, the sparks between them were definitely NOT those of siblings.

"There are also pools when their first fight would be, what it would be about, who would win,... the usual."

"Nothing about Mackenzie and Singer?" asked Cheggwidden baffled. Usually the pool crowd was on top of every situation and possibility so he couldn't believe that they would miss such an opportunity. These people had too much money! They also had to get lives of their own.

Tiner smiled sheepishly. "Yes, sir. There is. The main is who will win in the competition they are having. The odds are stacked in the LT's favor, very few bet on the LtCol. It's gonna be hell paying it all out. There is of course a pool as to when the LtCol would snap. And would she snap before she had to be hospitalized for critical levels of blood pressure and how she would snap: hurt someone physically/emotionally/mentally, have a mental breakdown or demand a transfer."

"Hm." hummed the Admiral, pondering the situation. "Does anyone believe she will just let it go and realize she can't win?"

Tiner checked his little black book. "No, sir. That is also all regarding the pools."

"Thanks, Tiner. Dismissed." ordered Cheggwidden and Tiner left the office, leaving the older man to ponder the peculiarities of his staff.

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**AN**: let's see how carefully you read fics. As they say, in gossip there is always a piece of truth. There is a piece of half-truth in one of these pools and gossips, let's see if you guess which.


	10. Chapter 10

Mac's next attempt fared much better.

Harriet had a day off and brought little AJ to visit, causing a stir in the bullpen, attracting Mac out of hers and Harm and Loren out of Loren's office. Mac had seemingly accidentally drifted close to them and then said in a deliberately loud voice, so that Loren could hear her. "Harm, look, it's our godson." with emphasis on _our_.

Loren grimaced, admitting defeat on that one.

She soon brightened up, though, because AJ had spotted them and yelled happily. "Auntie Mac, Unca Harm, Auntie Loren!"

Mac looked at Harm in confusion.

Harm shrugged. "We visited them a couple of times together, took him to the park occasionally and he started calling Loren Auntie."

Mac nodded, frowning, but that point still went to her. She and Harm shared a godchild and that was something Loren could not compete with. Unless she got pregnant with Harm's child.

And Mac did not want to contemplate the possibility of Loren Singer carrying Harm's child.

Mac 1, Loren 2 points.

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AN: because this was so extremely short, the next one will be a LOT longer and sooner. Also, it will be a funny chapter.


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: **this is the longer chapter I was talking about. You know what they say about plans of mice and men... Wanted to update earlier but everything went wrong. I hope you forgive me.

Right, the half-truth from part 9: Tiner reported that someone saw Harm and Loren in a park with their child, which was supposed to be proof that they are married and have a family. In part 10 Harm told Mac that he and Loren had occasionally taken little AJ to the park with them...

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Seaman John Waters met up with the rest of the water cooler crowd just there. At the water cooler.

They had a name and a reputation to uphold, after all.

On the way there he was almost mowed down by a couple of Seamen, a man and a woman who were obviously in quite a hurry. It would not do to be run over just as he was almost there, so he was thankful for quick reflexes that he got safely to the correct door.

He glanced down the corridor, opened the door and slipped inside.

Only to bump into someone in the doorway, causing a squeak of indignation. "Ow! Watch it, moron!"

The room was completely full and the person was at the back of the crowd, right in the doorway, which is the reason why he bumped into them.

"Sorry." he whispered, but then pressed his body to the back of the indignant person and pressed himself against them, so he could close the door. The water cooler room was completely full with members of the crowd, so they were squished into each other like sardines in a box.

The fact that the person he was pressing himself against was a woman, with a great figure (thank god for the military having weight and fitness regs, because that meant most women are quite worthy of second looks and of even occasional pressing against them in tight spaces) didn't hurt any. Her shapely, muscular backside fit quite famously into his groin.

The only reason why he was doing this and why he wasn't slapped for it was because Seaman Challenger (she was a woman, but the Navy brass have spent too much time out to sea and have completely forgotten that there are such things as women, which is why there is no rank Seawoman. They probably think that certain male crewmembers just ate too much fast food and thus developed a padded zone in the chest area, because of all the hormones the massive-production chicken farms keep feeding to chicken); was his fiancee. Otherwise he would've turned with his back towards her. He was a stand-up guy and the prospect of having sexual harrassment on his conscience or record was truly unappealing. His collision with the soft-in-all-the-right-places female seemed to piss her off, though, because she started wriggling with her derriere, bringing things to life... things that shouldn't be alive at work.

John moaned from the feeling and barely resisted taking her right there and then. He knew they could be silent, but the room was too hot and the smell of sex would be evident immediately.

He also knew why she was doing it... to pay him back for the collision. Unlike officers, enlisted uniforms were of lower quality and thinner fabrics and definitely of a lower quality cut and thus had little room in them, making any natural responses to certain stimuli pretty obvious. Okay, blatantly obvious. And walking around, awkwardly at that, with a certain someone awake and ready for action, would be utterly humiliating. Which is why she did it. After all, occasional humiliation strengthens the character...

He would just have to drag Sandra (that's Seaman Challenger's name) into a nearby supply closet and take care of certain things, because he knew from experience that she had just unintentionally fell into the hole, she was digging for him, herself. Her heavy breathing and the darkening fabric on her back gave her away.

He grinned and slipped his arms around her waist from behind, locking them together on her belly and hugged her closer to himself, stilling her movements. Moments later her own hands came to rest on his and their fingers intertwined.

Then he somehow, though it was a very big effort, managed to bring his attention to the speaker.

"Welcome to the monthly meeting of the Navy's top secret magazine 'Scuttle-butt'. As you know, the magazine is published once a month, containing only the freshest gossip about our dear senior ranks. We pride ourselves on the fact that not even once in the 50 years, since the magazine has first been published, has an issue fallen into the hands of the enemy. Namely a member of the officer rank. Only those with the rank of an NCO and a Seaman, and not even all of them, know of this magazine and only 1 person per base, after being completely checked out to make sure they are trustworthy, receives an issue of the magazine and has the duty to further the articles to the rest of the enlisted staff. Because of that, editors, like myself, monthly visit all the Navy bases on the mainland to collect the newest gossip for our magazine. Which is why I'm here today. So, please, pass forward your latest gossip in written form. Thank you!"

John quickly passed his piece of paper forward, following it with his eyes until it reached it's destination.

Then the person in his embrace turned around and slipped her own arms around him. "What was on it?"

"Oh, nothing much." he said, kissing her. "Just that little AJ Roberts is calling LT Singer 'Auntie Loren'. I overheard CDR Rabb say to LtCol Mackenzie that he and LT Singer have spent a lot of time together, visiting the Roberts together and going out. What about you?"

She kissed him back. "I saw the LT in a baby store yesterday. I heard that she and the CDR are married, now why do you think she would be in a baby store?" she asked with a sly grin.

John's eyes widened. "Really? Niiice."

"So, what do you say about finding that supply closet?" Sandra asked with a grinding motion of her groin against his.

"I say: lead the way." she took his hand and dragged him out of the room, to a door a few yards away and pushed him inside that room.

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	12. Chapter 12

"Sorry." a red-faced Sandra apologized to an equally red-faced, naked, couple (whom John had recognized as the ones almost running him over earlier) who were going at 'it' very passionately against the wall of the supply closet, that she had believed was empty. "We'll just find another supply closet."

She and John retreated and sped towards a supply closet on the next level, which was thankfully empty.

Once there, they immediately dedicated themselves to the business at hand. With remarkable enthusiasm.

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AN: yeah, yeah, I know, it's short, but it had to be separate for added dramatic effect. Besides, the next (longer) one will be posted on schedule (if nothing goes wrong).

Review!


	13. Chapter 13

Emboldened by her latest success Mac had tried again a few days later. Harm and Loren had spent all day pondering a case they were prosecuting together, Loren as 1st chair, and Loren had just went to the bathroom..

Mac saw how stiffly Harm held himself and thought that it would be the perfect opportunity to score another point.

She would just use what Loren had done in the conference room against the younger woman.

She guessed that, by the time Loren returned, she would have a Harm-putty in her hands and Loren would then be a witness to Mac's triumph.

She grinned to herself and entered his office.

Harm had immediately heard the sharp clicks of her high extremely-non-regulation heels and frowned. He recognized the sound, these were not the regulation pumps that Loren wore. Neither was that Loren's step. He'd gotten to know everything about Loren Singer quite well the last few months.

The way she walked, the way she talked, the way she smelled, the way she ate, her body language, hell, even how she breathed.

And this was not Loren Singer that had just walked into his office.

He knew he had heard that kind of walk somewhere, somewhere from the past, but couldn't identify it.

He looked up and frowned. 'What is Mac doing here? And I really don't like the way she's looking at me.'

He became instantly wary, on guard as to what she had planned. "Can I help you, Mac?"

The way he'd said it did not radiate any feelings of welcome, more of distrust, and Mac felt coils of anger come to life in her stomach. She forced a pleasant smile on her face and continued to walk towards him.

He stared at her warily. When she didn't say anything, just continued walking towards him, he stood up and moved, so he put his desk between them, not feeling comfortable having her in a close proximity. And not good comfortable either, that had ended years ago, between his return to JAG and Australia. Besides, with the way she moved and looked at him, she had something planned. Her hard eyes were a further hint that her actions would have far-reaching consequences for him that he would not like, if he let her continue. Anger flared even more in Mac at his move, interpreting his reasons correctly. 'So, you feel cozy and comfortable with the witch, but you run from me, huh?'

"What are you doing, Mac?"

"Your back seems to be hurting you again, I just thought I'd help." she said.

He dodged another attempt of hers of getting closer to him, by going around his desk. "Why?"

"It's what best friends do for their best friends, they care about them." she explained patiently, as if he was being particularly obtuse.

"Oh?" a sarcastic eyebrow rose. "Because I seem to remember _someone _telling me that her 'private life is off-limits to me' when I asked if everything was alright, because I cared. Double standards, Mac? Besides, we haven't been best friends for years, Mac, we've barely been friends before your wedding as it is, and you know why that is so."

Mac's spine stiffened, the glare she sent him almost killed him on the spot, and, without word, she turned around and stomped out of his office.

Loren was leaning with her back against the wood near Mac's office door, with a serious look on her face, with no trace of triumph or satisfaction.

Mac intended to brush past her, but her attempt was thwarted by Loren who called out. "Ma'am!"

Mac stopped, but didn't turn around. "What do you want, LT?"

Loren stepped closer, so they wouldn't be overheard. She'd seen ears prick up and turn towards them all over the bullpen. "Just a word of advice, ma'am. Harm is not your doormat, LtCol, do not expect him to come running to you when you crook your finger, especially not after all the abuse you've dealt him. Not anymore."

"'Harm'?" Mac raised an angry eyebrow. "That kind of familiarity is quite the breach of protocol, LT."

"Not at all, LtCol." Loren's smile was as cold as the Antarctic. "He _is _my_ partner _and _best friend_ after all. And I am both to him also. That gives me certain privileges. Besides, I've witnessed you address him that way many times, ma'am, so don't accuse me of something that you are guilty of doing also. Now please excuse me, I have to go back to my partner. Ma'am."

Mac watched with angry eyes as Loren strode into Harm's office. She watched as the two conversed, affectionate expressions on their faces, and then Harm sat back down and Loren started rubbing his back and shoulders, making him relax instantly. She saw the pleasure on his face, the feeling of security and friendship; and it was caused by Loren, a fact that made her even angrier. She glanced around the bullpen, noticing that nobody paid any attention to what was taking place in Harm's office. She even saw the Admiral come out of his office to talk to Tiner, look into Harm's office and then turn back around to Tiner, as if Harm and Loren doing that was completely common and acceptable.

Mac's shoulders slumped in resignation and she entered her own office.

A lot had changed since she'd left for USS Guadalcanal, things that, Mac had realized, would never have happened had she stayed and fought for what she wanted, instead of running away like a coward, doing what she always did: avoiding her problems and issues instead of dealing with them. She wasn't the most important thing in Harm's life anymore and she had to admit that that hurt. But things had changed and she would have to deal with them.

But she wasn't going to be a quitter this time, she was going to fight and she was going to win!

With this decision made she turned back to her work with a lighter heart.

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**_AN_**: now, aren't I a darling for giving you such a long chappy. I know there's a lot of you folks reading this fic (hits counter says it all) with just 4 people reviewing regularly out of hundreds of hits for every chapter, so I'm saying this to you: reviewing is not so hard. Just press the cute violet button saying GO, write a commentary on the part or on an element of it (love comments on specific scenes or parts) and then press Submit Review. I'll probably be going to Netherlands next week for 1 or 2 days and if I get at least 4 reviews per part I'll post 2 chapters on the day that I'm leaving instead of one. So **_Review!_**


	14. Chapter 14

**AN:** wow, I thank you all for responding to my plea. Reviewing doesn't take much effort and it means a lot to me. I would especially like to thank you for making suggestions.

I've been trying to decide from the start of writing this fic whether to write this scene or not, but after qball's review I decided to do it. While it may seem OOC for Mac to do something like that (even to me), remember that desperate people do desperate things. I only received qball's review a short time before I intended to post the originally-planned part, but changed my mind and decided to write this, which is why this part is short, because I'm still writing the scene, but didn't want you all to wait for tomorrow (my tomorrow) for me to be finished.

michelcz, ElDani, maria, Syrae, qball and michelleUK thank you for reviewing!

**michelcz and Eldani**: I've already PM-ed you with responses, so I'll just take this chance to assure others that I WON'T turn Mac into a monster. It was one of the conditions I had set myself when I started writing this fic. Jealousy and angry yes, but not a monster.

**maria: **I agree on a lot of points with you, especially on the one that she tried to change Harm, which was confirmed on many episodes. If she was in love with him, why then did she try to change him? If we fall in love with someone, do we not fall in love with who they ARE, instead of who we would like them to be?

**Syrae: **Tnx, here is the next post!

**qball: **Thank you for those very good ideas. Unfortunately since the whole fic is already written I could not make some changes because then I would have to rewrite the rest of the fic. I loved the court case idea, but unfortunately I have always skipped those scenes in JAG (except for the ep "What if" where I watched them because they were funny) and have never watched any other lawyer shows, so I have no idea how to write such a scene. I took your suggestion for this scene, but Harm will not be revealing his feelings for Loren yet. They will have to go through a lot more before they realize there's more between them than just friendship. We're about halfway through this fic (but the coming chapters are way longer). Since I've started posting, I have written additional 30+ Kb of new scenes. As for Mac bringing charges... I've started writing a fic like that, but was struck by a writer's block. I have also realized during that time that a fic like that would necessarily be quite long, definitely too long to be just a chapter in this one.

**michelleUK: **Tnx, here is the update!

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Mac had her first chance to pay Loren back when she caught Harm unawares in the break room.

He was looking into the open refrigerator with a thoughtful expression on his face, rubbing his chin, with the other arm leaning on the frame of the appliance.

Mac was just about to tell him to close the fridge so as not to let out the cold when an idea came to her.

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She may have lost on the friendship and closeness field, but she still was quite able to fight fiercely on another field completely.

She knew she had a great body, she took good care of it, most of the time, and she made sure she always got rid of the burgers she occasionally ate. She was not fond of that greasy meat, but she did it to tease Harm. She had also not discouraged the myths that she could maintain a great figure with no effort spent on it and that her metabolism was perfect, eliminating the need for workouts, but these were all just products of overactive imaginations. None of it was true.

Truth was, she spent most of her off-duty time at gyms, enjoying the looks the men there gave her and feasting her eyes on the bulging muscles they had. She had even occasionally taken one of them home with her for a night. There's no harm in entertaining herself while waiting for Harm to come to his senses and go after her, right?

Although she was sure some other people, women and men alike, would disagree with her reasoning. Especially that uptight little blonde LT, who so obviously thought differently. Mac was of the firm opinion that the little aloof and frigid LT needed to get laid, have a night of good, hard sex that would looseen her up.

Mac loved sex and had never denied it. Neither had she ever denied herself the chance of getting some whenever a chance proposed itself. Which is why she went to bed with Brumby on their first date, only a day after propositioning Harm for a one night stand. Partly out of vengeance towards Harm, for she knew she couldn't hurt him more than have sex with the man he had hated for years and partly out of her libido's urging. She'd always had a strong sex drive and she wasn't going to deny herself anything.

Even a one night stand with a perfect stranger.

Besides, it wasn't as if she was acting out of character, she'd always enjoyed free sex and got introduced to it during her drunken years, when she would occasionally wake up to an unfamiliar guy (or more) after a night spent out drinking.

Alcohol lowers inhibitions and a lot of alcohol, which is the amount chronic alcoholics consume, lowers inhibitions drastically and quickly. Sometimes people do crazy things while intoxicated, things they wouldn't if they were sober, because they can't control themselves nor think rationally, like having sex with multiple partners.

When she joined up she had to be careful not to do it so anybody would know about it. But sometimes her dry spell got to her and she did reckless things. Like have a completely sexual affair with her CO. There weren't any feelings on either side, they were too different and incompatible for it, they just liked sex, they lusted after each other, they spent a lot of time together, since she was his admin officer, and there was no-one else available, except for foreigners, since the base was in Okinawa. That left them with the only logical (though extremely against the regs) option. Each other. The rest, they say, is history.

At least the Courts-Martial taught her something, for, even though she lusted after Cheggwidden too, which came to the fore during the time Coster stalked her, she was able to control herself and not do anything. She still needed to feed her libido and that's where Brumby and unknown men from the gym and night clubs came in.

After all, she was an adult woman, with a fully functional sex drive and she was single. The fact that she occasionally tried to start something with Harm did not matter to her, nor did it influence her life style.

And the ease with which she managed to pick up any man she wanted ('Except for Harm who didn't seem interested in one night of sex in Sydney, that fool') was concrete evidence of her... assets.

She knew men loved her large breasts and tall, muscular body, so why should Harm be any different?

And if she failed on the friendship, she would at least succeed on the lust thing, using her own body to seduce Harm and make a point.

Harm was hers and no other woman had a right to him!

Especially not LT Witch.

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**AN:** I have always seen Mac as a very sexual person, fact that was confirmed time and time again on the show. As such, I was never able to fully believe in her not having sex during those years that TPTB wanted us to believe she was celibate. Unknown number of years before Dalton? The woman who had cheated on her husband, not out of love, but out of her strong libido? I doubt John and Dalton were the only ones (if she were a real person). Then a while until Brumby? And then she jumps into bed with Brumby on the first date? With a man that was basically a stranger, not having known him outside work. The man who sexually harrassed her. Then all of her trips down to Oz... I doubt they spent their days in the Outback watching Coalas... I also very much doubt that she would, a woman in her sexual peak and with her proven-strong sex drive, spend 2 years without sex and THEN wait 9!!! MONTHS after having started her relationship with Webb before having sex. The woman that who had sex on the first that, which was already canon and proven by history... That woman would wait 9 months before having sex with her boyfriend? Yeah right and I'm the Pope.

Sorry, folks, not buying it. They were probably going at it like bunnies as soon as he was healed enough and in town.

I agree that I may have exaggerated in portraying Mac as such a loose woman, but I ask you... would a faithful, normal woman regularly seek sexual partners who are not her husband, without ever having divorced her husband? Sexual partners that definitely did not offer any chance for a committed, meaningful relationship, just a sexual one? The woman who propositioned her best friend for quick sex one night, and then jumped into another man's bed right the next night?

Think about it very carefully.

Then remember that she was an alcoholic at the age when the hormones are positivelly raging and everyone, except those under the control of the hormones, know it.

(Huge amounts of alcohol equals lowered or eradicated inhibitions) + hormones... equals... definitely not a virgin or a Saint. I very much doubt that Mac didn't sleep around during that time of her life, due to the both just-stated factors.


	15. Chapter 15

**AN: **I know most of you are disapointed with the previous chapter, even I didn't like it much.

BUT, except for the thing about those guys from the gym and the night clubs, everything was according to canon. Mac had time and time again proven to be a very sexual person, confirmed by CB's numerous statements and interviews, as late as Spring 2005, when she claimed that Mac and Vukovic would become lovers and that hey had chemistry and sexual attraction. Hell, even official spoilers for the intended JAG: San Diego spin-off claimed that they would to at it hot and heavy! Which is why I am of the belief that Mac would not be able to remain celibate for years after cheating on her husband, nor would she wait 9!! months before having sex with her spook-wannabe boyfriend Webb. Sydney had also proven her to be a person that puts out on the first date, so one night stands are in-character for her. Remaining celibate for long periods of time is out of character for her.

So, I think I wasn't too much off the mark with Mac's characterization, I just ruffled feathers because no-one likes to think about Mac's past, her actions, her behaviour and the way she was, an adultress and an alcoholic. Harm made mistakes in his life, but he could never reach Mac in the size and severity of them if he stayed in-character. And most of her mistakes and poor-judgement calls are on permanent record and many of her mistakes from personal life influenced her professional life...

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With a purposeful stride Mac went over to Harm and insinuated herself between him and the fridge, making sure to brush with her breasts across his chest.

Harm's reaction was instantaneous, his body stiffened and he jerked backwards.

"Sorry, Harm." Mac smiled seductively, though completely insincerely, at him.

Then she turned around and bent over to look for something in the fridge, pushing her derriere in Harm's groin in the process, wriggling around for good measure.

Harm gasped at the feeling it caused in him, backing away.

Mac sensed him moving away from her and bent down even further, displaying her tight derriere to it's best effect.

While still bending over she covertly slipped her hands to the top buttons of her shirt, slowly unbottoning it, making sure the tops of her breasts were visible.

She selected a banana and rose fluidly, seductively, making sure she exposed the maximum amount of leg while doing it.

She closed the fridge and leant against it, peeling the banana. She sneaked a quick glance at Harm and saw him frowning at her warily.

Then she started nibbling on the banana, pretending to be completely ignoring Harm.

Deciding to up the ante a little she slowly licked the length of the fruit, then swallowed it whole.

When she pulled it out of her mouth she dragged her teeth lightly on it, making drag marks in the flesh.

Then she again started to nibble delicately on the tip, satisfied when she'd heard Harm groan.

She turned her eyes on him, lust burning in her brown orbs.

She finally abandoned the banana, throwing it into the waste basket and slowly walked over to Harm, swaying her hips seductively.

She pressed her body against Harm, snaking her arms around his neck. She lightly bit his ear and then soothed it with her tongue, whispering into it. "Like what you see? It could be yours."

To her big surprise Harm's arms came up and gently pried her off his body.

She had never known a man who would resist her after she'd made such an obvious and erotic come-on, especially not after she had practically draped her body over his. They all dragged her off to bed immediately or into an empty room.

She looked up into Harm's angry gaze. "I'm not interested, Mac."

Wide eyes met his. "What?"

"What you just did is unprofessional and inappropriate. You're also out of your uniform, so close up those buttons, before anyone sees you like that. I'm gonna go now, come out only after you are presentable, we don't want anyone to get the wrong idea." he nodded at her and left calmly, leaving Mac standing there, gaping after him.

That had never happened to her!

No man had ever been able to resist her, how did Harm do it? Was he completely asexual? Was it a consequence of his crash last May?

Did he have something real going with LT Witch? Was that why he didn't find her attractive?

She'd show them! If either of them believed Sarah Mackenzie would give up that easily they had another thing coming!

Resolutely she buttoned up her uniform blouse, squared her shoulders and left the break room.

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AN: the next part will be the start of the scene around which the whole fic was written. It takes up almost one half of the fic.

Remember, 4 updates will get you 2 parts tomorrow...


	16. Chapter 16

**ElDani: **in this day of post-sexual revolution era, people having one night stands is already socially accepted. While I never found them appealing I know people, women and men, who regularly have one night stands.

Mac had always been a sexual person, she had never hidden that. Her sexual affair with her CO, her cheating on her husband many times, her jumping in bed with Bugme on their first date (the kiss at the airport was a kiss between two people who'd had sex very recently, perhaps even just gotten out of bed),... proved the fact that Mac would not reject any chance at sex she'd get. As qball had already stated, Mac was always about the desperate urge for an instant gratification. While Harm was a playboy in Season 1, except for his loving interactions with Meg (I think the writers had no clue how to write him because there were so many inconsistencies and clashes in his canon personality that it was confusing) we had seen him become much more mature, especially visible sexually-wise by season 5 than Mac. The last PROVEN one-night-stand he'd had was with Kate Pike during season 1, after that he'd had only committed relationship. Mac was having one night stands as late as season 5. Nobody can convince me that canon Mac would stay celibate from Adrift 2 to TILAM. Sorry, don't believe it, it's not Mac's style not to get it immediately on with the sex part.

As for her drunken years... you just have to look at the statistics of how many young people have sex after their drunken parties, how many unplanned pregnancies there are. Count in the fact that Mac was an alcoholic, which means she consummed much more alcohol and her inhibitions were lowered, coupled with the hormones people at 16-18 are full off, and you get the logical, probably-correct, assumption that Mac wasn't a saint nor a virgin during that time. I know it's hard to reconcile with this part of Mac, but we must be objective. Thanks for the review!

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**Syrae: **I re-wrote Harm's response many many times and I feel that this is the one most in-character for him.

It seems I've forgotten to say where I'm going. Sorry. I'm going to Zeist, Holland. It's a business trip, going to buy an oldtimer bike. About 1160 km and 14 hours long trip one-way.

Thanks for the review!

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**qball: **I agree completely with you. Thanks for the review!

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One of Loren's strongest demonstrations of how close she and Harm had gotten was one night, 6 weeks after Mac's return.

Harm had long ago figured out what was going on, but had wisely decided not to do or say anything that would let it on that he knew. Even though he was in the middle of it, by pretending ignorancy he was able to avoid becoming a victim. As long as Mac and Loren were fighting it out between themselves and as long as he didn't attract attention, he was safe.

The whole staff was over at McMurphy's one Friday evening, enjoying the chance to be together without work.

Harm and Loren had arrived in Harm's car, as her apartment was also in Union Station, just in McMurphy's direction, making a statement at the beginning already.

The RV (randezvous) point for the group was the bar's parking lot.

Their joint arrival raised a few eyebrows, but how they'd dressed had raised all of the eyebrows high into hairlines.

Loren wore a silk dress similar to the one she wore for the Roberts' Christmas party. Dark red silk, complimenting her curves beautifully, sleeveless, with a Russian collar, with Japanese-style black dragons on the back and the skirt reached down a few inches above her knees. She was a truly stunning sight, bringing a "Wow!" out of Tiner before he could stop himself, and catcalls from a few passers-by, deserving themselves a glare from Harm, which effectively shut them up.

Harm wore black slacks and a black sports jacket with a silk shirt of the same shade of red as Loren's dress. The rest of the staff didn't know that Harm and Loren hadn't planned on dressing the same way and were even more surprised to realize they were dressed the same, when Loren had opened the door for Harm when he came to pick her up. The black jacket emphasized the width of Harm's broad shoulders and a few female members of the group had gotten weak-kneed at the sight of him. Loren had had the same reaction when she had seen him, which is why she hadn't seen the very appreciative checking out Harm had given her.

The only thing Mac had to say about them coming there like some long-married couple, who dressed the same, was when she saw the black dragons on Loren's back. "Very appropriate." she muttered dryly to Bud and Harriet, who refrained from commenting. At least Harriet did. Bud managed to miss Harriet's warning glare and 'corrected' Mac. "No, ma'am, that was CDR Krennick, ma'am."

At Mac's puzzled look he explained. "CDR Rabb supposedly called her 'The Dragon Lady'. You call LT Singer 'LT Witch' and not 'LT Dragon'."

Finally he saw Mac's glare being directed at him and he quickly added. "Shutting up now, ma'am."

Mac glared at him to make sure he really did shut up, but her glare was quickly diverted to Harm and Loren, more specifically, Harm's hand on Loren's back as he guided her through the bar's door.

What she didn't know was that the worst was yet to come.

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	17. Chapter 17

AN: even though there were no 4 reviews/part I'll give you this one soon. I'm just too nice...

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To Mac's consternation Harm and Loren sat next to each other at the big table the group had created from two smaller ones.

The evening progressed with them having some quiet discussions, overlaced with giggling from Loren and chuckling from Harm, obviously quite enjoying themselves.

Eventually the atmosphere lightened and people started dancing.

Harm and Loren stayed mainly at the table, so deep into their conversations that they had completely forgotten that everyone else existed.

The staff and Cheggwidden looked on with indulgent smiles, which indicated that this was nothing unusual.

Since it was bad form for them to ignore everything else Cheggwidden reminded them of it half and hour later when it was clear that they wouldn't be doing any mingling. Their sheepish smiles caused laughing around the table.

They chatted to the others for a bit, then got up to dance. Mac raised her eyebrow at that. Usually she was the one Harm would ask to dance first. This proof of what had become of their once-so-great friendship saddened her greatly and she lapsed into silence for a while.

Harm and Loren danced 3 songs straight with each other and Mac was starting to believe that the DJ was intentionally playing increasingly sappy songs.

The last song was a very slow song about love and about the couple going out to a public function, reminding Mac very uncomfortably that Harm and Loren definitely looked like they were embodying the lyrics. Even after decades after it had been written, Eric Clapton and Dire Straits' version of "Wonderful tonight" still had the power to turn even a stone into a sappy pile of mush. The powerful lyrics of the song had prompted all couples to drift even closer into each other's embrace and Mac was quite angered to see that it did the same to Harm and Loren.

Comments from patrons seated at the next table angered her even more. They were commenting on what a striking couple Harm and Loren made. Harm had shed his jacket immediately after entering the bar and their color-matched attire made them an even more striking and matching couple. Mac swore to herself, that if they were to suddenly follow the example of the other couples on the dance floor and start kissing, she would go to her apartment, return with her gun and start shooting.

Thankfully Harm and Loren did nothing of the sort and continued to dance peacefully in each other's arms, soft smiles and shining eyes aimed at the other.

It's late in the evening

She's wondering what clothes to wear

She puts on her make up

And brushes her long blond hair

'Another blonde, why am I not surprised?' muttered Mac angrily to herself. Loren's long blond hair were let down, cascading down her shoulders and her back in long, soft, golden waves. Harriet and Bud just looked at each other worriedly.

And then she asked me

Do I look alright

And I say yes

You look wonderful tonight

Mac had to admit that Loren did, indeed, look wonderful. That dark red, silk, sleveless dress complimented her figure perfectly. Harm obviously approved very much if the appreciative looks and the possessive hand on the small of Loren's back, wherever they went together, were anything to go by. The man was strutting around like a peacock, shoulders squared and chest puffed up, whenever he was near Loren.

We'd go to a party

And everyone turns to see

This beautiful lady is walking around with me

And then she asked me do you feel alright

And I say yes

I feel wonderful tonight

Every man and woman, had turned in the door's direction when Harm and Loren had walked in, quite obviously liking the way they both looked. Loren had been receiving envious glances from all the women the whole night because of her relationship and closeness with Harm; while men just glared at Harm for being with such a beauty. That all made Mac's jealousy soar even more, before Loren (and before she had made one of the biggest mistakes of her life and chosen Brumby over Harm, if she was completely honest with herself) she was the one receiving the admiring glances and envious looks because of being with Harm. Now here she was, playing second fiddle because she had turned her tail and ran, instead of dealing with the situation, instead of being willing to wait for him. Now here she was, after not being willing to wait and after having gone to another man, yet she was still alone. Even more, all of her chances of being with Harm had been destroyed by her foolish, hasty and vengeful act. Now, because of not wanting to wait for Harm, not only did she not have the husband and kids she wanted to get, she had even lost her chances with Harm.

I feel wonderful

because I see the love right in your eyes

And the wonder of it all

Is that you just don't realize

How much I love you

Mac was seriously pissed off by the fact that they were dancing slowly, with Loren's head on his shoulder now, her nose pressed into his throat; but the fact that just at this verse Loren had raised her head and looked up into Harm's eyes was the proverbial drop of water too much. No way was she letting this take place before her for much longer. Harriet and Bud looked at each other, both sensing that something bad was about to happen, not knowing what to do to prevent it.

It's time to go home now

And I've got an aching head

So I give her the car keys

And she helps me to bed

And then I tell her

As I turned off the lights

'Not if I have anything to say about it.' thought Mac. As the final strains of the beautiful melody rang out, she stood up, squared her shoulders and was preparing to cut in and break up the sappy display. A comment from a woman to her husband at the next table spurred her on. "How long do you think they've been married? They look like they've been together for at least 60 years and are still in love. They really do belong together."

Mac didn't get far because the two broke up, quite reluctantly it seemed, and Loren headed towards the ladies room, while Harm towards the bartender.

'Damn.' her plan went down the drain. She'd intended on cutting in and now she had it spoiled for her.

Changing course, she headed towards the ladies room, intending to have a word or two with Loren.

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AN: The song "Wondeful Tonight" was written by Eric Clapton and published by Hal Leonard. The lyrics are property and copyright of their owners and are provided for educational purposes only. The author of this story is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. I do not make any money with this fic, nor do I make any money with the lyrics used.

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	18. Chapter 18

AN: sorry guys for not updating earlier. I have a VERY busy week. Came back from Holland on Wednesday night, exhausted, the drive back taking over a day, in rain and heavy traffic. I think the number of trucks I saw over 3 days goes into hundreds of thousands. But, the drive was a success and I have a new bike in my possession. Actually, it's not new, it's an oldtimer, but it's a great bike. A Honda Goldwing. Can't wait to ride it next year.

On Thursday and Friday I had a symposium that took place over the entire day, on Friday night I took part in a state-level celebration of the day of my country's heroes. For the first time in my life I took part in a rather exclusive celebration, with the high society, military brass and politicians attending. Among them our former (and first) president, our former defence minister, our current prime minister and our current defence minister, all sitting just about 30 meters from me and then standing 1 meter from me at the reception. Talk about overload. And all because because of what I study...

And then I spent yesterday catching up on my sleep and going out for the last warm days of this year.

Then this part took some time because I'd decided to write additional couple of parts from Loren's POV.

So, I hope you enjoy this and please review, cause I loved your reviews.

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The night was going great for Loren.

She had the handsomest man she knew as her escort, who obviously liked the way she looked and who obviously liked and wanted her company, and she had the envy of the entire female population of the bar.

When she'd opened the door and lay her eyes upon Harm her knees had gotten weak.

He was gorgeous, the jacket emphasizing his broad shoulders and bulging biceps, his face clean shaven,... Loren was definitely impressed.

Though she'd failed to notice then his obvious appreciation of her dress, she hadn't failed to notice the many looks he had sent her way throughout the evening, especially during the car ride, some of them raising her temperature.

She'd never admit it, but when she went out to buy the dress, she thought only if Harm would like it.

She knew that it was 'it' the second she saw it. Loren didn't care whether it was silk or satin, she didn't care how much it cost, she just cared that it was a beautiful deep, dark red, that clung to her body like a second skin, emphasizing her seductive curves, the slight flare of her narrow hips, even narrower waist, flat stomach and full large breasts, beautifully, while not being tight or encumbering.

She didn't know why she cared about Harm liking the dress and the way she'd look in it so much, she didn't want to think about it, for she was afraid of what she'd learn. About herself and her secret wants, wishes, needs and desires.

When Harm helped her into her coat she relished those few moments when his arms were around her.

They were strong, warm, caring arms of a true friend. It'd been nearly a lifetime since she'd last had a real friend and even that friendship, while good, could not compare to this one in a million years.

It was the little things that made Harm stand out from the rest of the men she knew, even guys that were her friends when she was young, when she still believed in the good in the world and when she didn't hide her true self before anyone, donning the mask of the cold, calculating woman.

That is, until she'd met and later befriended one Harmon Rabb Jr..

The little things that made him stand out from the crowd were how he always helped her with her coat, pulling her hair out of the collar, the way he put his hand on the small of her back when they walked together, making her feel warm all over and cared about, of course only once they were comfortable with touching each other, the way he visibly admired the way she looked without it being lecherous, how he always opened doors for her, always let her go first, either through a door or order food at a restaurant or interrogate a suspect, how he always treated her with utmost respect, consideration and sensitivity, even when it was that time of the month and she was feeling particularly bitchy, taking it out on him because he was the closest, both physically as well as emotionally, letting her vent without making her feel patronized; how he never judged or criticized her, how he treated enlisted and junior officers kindly and with respect, unless they pushed him too far, how he sometimes rubbed her feet after a long day at the office followed by a long evening of work at one of their places, not caring if they smelled because of the shoes and the stresses of the day,... all those things that most men wouldn't think of, but to Harm they were automatic and a part of him, of who he was. He didn't even have to think about doing them, he did them automatically and ALWAYS without some hidden agenda.

Loren was a 90's woman, emancipated and determined to succeed in a men's line of work, but she loved these little gestures of his. He didn't do them because he would consider her weak, he did them because he was a gentleman through and through and Loren was grateful to his mother and grandmother for having raised such a great man. These gestures didn't make her feel weak, they made her feel appreciated. He made her feel like a woman and not just another officer, in all the good ways, beautiful, cherished, respected, appreciated and cared about.

He would've made a wonderful mate, a wonderful husband and father, but she didn't let herself think that way. They were friends, best and closest friends imaginable, and she cherished that too much to ever endanger it by trying for something more. She'd witnessed how sexual tension could destroy a friendship, Harm and Mac's friendship being a prime example, and she wasn't willing to allow that to happen to them. She was prepared to watch him fall in love, marry and have a family with another woman, if it meant that she would keep him in her life, especially in the current capacity. She would be happy for him, even though she'd cry tears of loss for herself at night.

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	19. Chapter 19

No-one had ever found out about the weekend when she was as sick as a dog, having flu, and Harm had stayed over at her place, taking care of her. 

She had no-one but him in this world.

No family and no friends but him, but he more than made up for it. HE was her family now. And in a decidedly non-platonic way. As long as she had him she needed no-one else.

It was one Friday at work, weeks ago, when he'd noticed that she was looking suspiciously pale and greenish, he'd bustled her home, put her in bed and looked after her the whole weekend long.

He was there when she prayed to the porcelain god, holding her hair out of her face and rubbing her back soothingly, helping her to her feet when she was too exhausted and shaky to do so herself and carried her back to bed in his arms.

He soothed her temperature with a cloth, soaked in cold water, running it over her arms and neck and face, making sure she took her medicine.

He cooked for her, only the things that wouldn't make her sick, things that she liked.

He was patient with her. Caring. Tender.

He helped her to the bathroom, made sure she was able to take a shower, while giving her complete privacy, even though he was standing on the other side of the door, just to make sure nothing happened to her.

He slept on the couch, not caring what it did to his back, except for that one time when she was feeling so miserable and needed him so much, that she wouldn't let go of him when the time to sleep came, she wasn't ready nor willing to let go of the comfort he offered and so he was forced to sleep in her bed, holding her feverish body to himself, risking getting sick himself, and not caring.

Caring only about her health and wellfare. Caring only for her. Caring only about her.

She was embarrassed to find herself sprawled on top of him the next morning, covering his body with hers, having sought his heat during the moments when the chills were the worst during the night, when she felt as if she couldn't get warm. During one of those moments she subconsciously climbed on top of him in her sleep, burrowing into his chest, tangling her legs with his. She was hiding her face in his neck, breathing in his scent, it having a calming effect on her. That was the best night's sleep she could ever remember having.

He had his arms about her, holding her to him tightly, and his face buried in her hair. He didn't seem to feel nor mind her weight upon him, for he woke up only in the morning, a few minutes before her.

She was highly embarrassed to find herself in such a compromising position, but their close friendship took care of it. He was a perfect gentleman and she stopped blushing soon, quitting with her apologies, when she realized it was nothing to be ashamed of.

They stayed another half an hour in that position until she had to go praying again. He followed her, holding her hair out of her face, soothing her. When she was finished and had flushed the toilet, he sat down on the cold bathroom floor and brought her into his arms, on his lap, cuddling her to him, murmuring soothing words in her ear. She buried her face in his chest, tears of frustration over her illness and weakness staining his shirt, her arms holding on to him tightly. He made her feel safe, strong, cared for and about, and dare she say it... loved. Then he let her take a quick bath to get rid of the smell and went about his business. When she came out she was greeted by the smell of tea, toast and crackers.

He stayed with her until she felt completely well again, never wavering, not even when she didn't want him there, from fear that he would catch the bug from her.

He was like a rock in a storm-tossed sea to her.

He was her rock.

And she knew he would always be hers.

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REVIEW!!!!


	20. Chapter 20

**AN: **the reasons why I'm bugging for reviews are:

- because that's the only way for me to know if you want to read more.

- I'm not looking for praise or something like that, I'm looking for constructive criticism that will help me become a better writer.

- another reason: a few chapters of this fic have already been inspired by reviews and I love reading those kind of reviews that comment on something that had happened in the chapter, or just offer constructive ideas.

- also, I am too impatient to wait for a beta to proof-read my work, so I am the one to do it. I ask for reviews because, not only are they helpful idea-wise, but they also alert me to an error I'd made so I can go back and fix it.

So, please continue reviewing and thus help me improve this fic and my skills as a writer.

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**Syrae: **I'll definitely take that as a compliment. I've always loved reading fics where the couple gets the happily ever after, and fics that end with UST or tragedy have always left me feeling let down and disappointed. Which is why I **ALWAYS **give the couple the happily ever after. The day I end fic with UST or a major character death will be the day I stop writing. Which is also the reason why I give the romance element (mostly an established relationship) to the fics that are simply rated 'humor'. I'm a sap and proud of it!!!

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**Skull2: **thanks and you'll find out about Mac's reaction as soon as I am finished describing Loren's POV on the events.

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**michelcz: **Mac will not be a monster, it was one of the conditions I had set myself when starting to write this fic. Which is also the reason why I never had Mac threatening Loren with consequences if she didn't stay away from Harm.

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I know jealous people can be extremely dangerous, and that Mac had proved to be a very jealous type many times in the past, but I didn't want to have Mac go overboard. Besides, even with her canon-jealousy, we don't know how Mac would react to a real danger to a future with Harm, especially if it's coupled with a real danger to losing the kind of friendship they had, and becoming just one of regular friends, even though she'd deserved it a few times with her bad treatment of him.

Mac had always been pretty complacent in her friendship with Harm and taking it for granted, only having a romantic future with Harm threatened by other women not what she meant to him friends-wise, though many times undeserved; and I find it disappointing that the writers never tried to shake her out of her complacency by introducing someone who would be a real threat to taking her spot in his life. All of her spots. Harm had never let any of the women he was involved with threaten his friendship with Mac, from his side, the way Mac reacted was out of his hands.

On the other hand, every time Mac got involved with another man, she always, almost ruined her friendship with Harm. For some unknown reason she grew aggressive towards him, private and defensive against her best friend.

We saw that with Brumby, when Harm came back from flying and saw that she had replaced him with Bugme as her new best friend without much effort or regret, and then was very aggressive against Harm when he showed interest in her life (her comment from season 5 'my private life is off-limits to you' comes to mind) and we saw that again when she intentionally tried to destroy their friendship, hope for more and Harm's heart in order to get together with Webb, like she had to destroy what she had with Harm in order to be with another man.

It was like she was incapable of juggling a friendship with Harm with a sexual relationship with another man. I think this incapability of juggling multiple types of relationships at the same time was one of the main reasons for the many mistakes and rifts (between her and Harm) Mac had made during her life in her private life. As one reviewer for one of my previous fics had said (I'm sorry, but I forgot for which fic, which is why I can't name that person, but this analysis is not mine; though I did build my own thoughts on it and added to it, my version is this: most of the errors Mac had made in her professional life stem from the mistakes she had made in her private life and from her incompetence at successfully leading her private life and separating it from the professional one.)

Her affair with Farrow, which was not only fraternization but also adultery (I'm sorry, but I can't respect someone who would break their vows, without even trying to dissolve that marriage with a divorce prior to having an affair); her perjury, the way she almost sank her working relationship with Harm because she was incapable of separating it from their friendship (in one of the earliest eps Harm had said to her 'What happens in the courtroom stays in the courtroom'. Mac had never learned that lesson, nor taken it to heart, nor adhered to it, and had never left anything in the courtroom, she let it influence their friendship and the way she acted towards him),... all those mistakes started in her private life, but then she let them flow over and affect her professional life.

It is one of the reasons why I've lost respect for her as a professional, as an officer and lawyer, not just as a woman (due to the wrongful things she had intentionally did during her life), years ago. She had let her private life and her private relationships affect her professional life and her working relationship with Harm, which is what a real professional (like Harm, who never held grudges towards her, always forgave and always apologized for everything he said and done, unlike Mac) would never do.

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**michelle UK: **that part is still coming up, I'm not going to make it easy or simple for them. Thanks for the review and keep reading.

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That weekend signalled a new stage in their friendship.

They grew even closer and it also marked the moment when Loren had started consciously repressing her attraction to Harm and anything deeper that she might feel.

Her friendship with him meant everything in the world to her, even more than her career, and she would do anything not to to destroy it, especially with feelings, that she was sure were one-sided. She had never had a friendship like this one ever before in her life and thus she cherished it above everything.

Yet, it didn't matter to her if her secret, repressed, desires were never fulfilled. As long as she had him in her life, she needed nothing else and nothing else mattered.

She was aware of the looks Harm drew from the women already in the bar and a smile of satisfaction and smugness threatened to break out. These women wanted him and envied her, it was clear on their faces, and Loren was the one to walk around with his hand on the small of her back, so clearly close to each other, physically and emotionally. It also gave off the deceptive impression that they were intimate, which is what these women envied. Well, they were intimate, they had just never had sex. Loren had always separated intimacy from sex, she had never equated it and she and Harm had clearly had an intimate relationship.

In order to clearly show to anyone interested in poaching on her property, threatening her friendship with the man, that she had claim on him she stepped closer to him, slipping her arm around his waist, forcing him to wrap his own arm around her own waist.

She sensed him looking at her and then following her gaze. She didn't know what _he _saw, but she felt him drawing her even closer to him.

She sighed contently and leaned her head against his shoulder as they walked to the far corner of the bar, reveling in the heat his large body gave off so generously.

She also felt the heat of LtCol Mackenzie's glare on the back of her head, the intensity almost powerful enough to vaporize her.

A small, secretive smile curved her lips at the thought of this simple act riling the other woman so much. 'Eat your heart out.' she sent out to the older woman and, for once, regretted her lack of telepathy.

Harm led the way to a table, with a bench and a few chairs, holding one chair out for her and then pushing it forward as she sat down.

Some women find such a gesture offending, taking it as an insinuation that they are unable to seat themselves, but Loren took it for what it was. A gesture of a man with good manners and healthy dose of respect for women. She knew none of his gestures had any secret messages behind them, they were just reflections of an upbringing conducted by two strong women, his mother and his grandmother. Harm embodied the saying 'an officer and gentleman'.

With a slight smile she remembered his first attempt at pulling a chair out for her. He looked like he genuinely feared she would make minced meat out of him for it. The relieved expression that appeared on his face when she calmly took her seat and touched his forearm in thanks was truly comical and she had had a hard time not bursting out in laughter. Only later did she find out that he had never tried that with Mac after the first time, about a month into his partnership with Mac, when she took it as an affront, due to her feministic ideas, and had figuratively flayed his back for it. Needless to say, apart from opening the doors, he had never tried any other gentlemany gesture for Mac.

Loren was different in that regard. While being a strong woman and trying to succeed in what had always been a male line of work, the military; Loren was secure in her femininity, but never taking advantage of it for her own professional goals, even though she knew she was attractive, secure enough to never take a gentlemany gesture for an insinuation that she was incapable of something just because she was a woman. Loren was namely of the opinion that only women who were insecure about themselves and about their femininity would regard such a gesture of good manners as an insinuation of being incapable of doing something themselves.

She was broken out of her ruminations by the rest of the JAG staff taking their places at the table and at feeling the heat Harm's body gave off when he sat down next to her and moved his seat closer to her, partly out of the lack of space and partly out of them not feeling uncomfortable having the other completely in their personal space. Neither also wanted to think about the fact that they liked each other's presence, especially in their personal space; nor did they want to think about why it was that way. Denial is not just a river in Egypt.

'Well, actually, there's no river in Egypt called Denial. It's The Nile and not Denial. Just another one of those weird cliche things...' thought Loren.

She observed Harm as he talked to Sturgis and Bud, using his hands to underline his words, being passionate about the topic, like he was passionate about a lot of things in life. This passion was one of the things she liked in him and had drawn her to him.

He then glanced at her and sent her a warm smile, and a slideshow of the past few months had started before her eyes. The start of their partnership, later of their friendship, pictures of their bond, how they were there for each other, how Harm had helped her through many a hard time, how she did it for him, how he had encouraged her and helped her grow as an officer, lawyer, friend, woman and person; how proud he looked whenever she scored another win in the courtroom, a win for truth and justice, and, finally, how he had cared for her when she was ill, not caring that he could get the bug himself, she, her health and her well-being being his first priority, going out of his way to accomodate her and make her feel better.

'This is what it feels like to have a friend. A real friend. A friend for life. A friend that will never let you down. A friend that will never hurt you or disappoint you. Someone you can rely on. Fully, completely and always. And I have that, I finally have it. The weirdest thing is not that I have it with the most unexpected person of all, but that I can't imagine my life without it and him in it, and that I know I will never lose them. My life is finally full. All thanks to him.'

And Loren knew that this friendship would never end, never lose it's strength nor waver, and that, whenever she needed help or a friend, or just a friendly shoulder to lean and cry on, he would be there for her, immediately and without questions.

A warm wave of feelings washed over her, feelings that she had never known before in her life, feelings that were frighteningly strong, and some feelings that were frightening by themselves, because she had never felt them before. Strange, she was scared by them, but she was never scared of losing her independence or having her heart broken were she to ever give in to them. She also knew that were she ever to give into these feelings, losing her independence would never be a loss to her, or something to regret, it would just make her life fuller and even more worthy of living. Yet, until she was ready for more, having Harm as a friend was enough to her.

She was finally happy.

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**AN: **Loren's opinion on feminism and about women hating gestures stemming from good manners because they are insecure, is not my opinion. I don't waste time trying to find out about why such women react like that, and I think this is what the canon Loren would think of them.

Remember, Loren was pretty self-confident and secure in herself.

So, remember, I like constructive reviews and ideas, so please review!


	21. Chapter 21

**AN: **Now THESE are the kind of reviews I love! And the number of them. Keep reviewing!

Namely discussing parts of the chapter, giving your opinions on matters and so forth.

Here's an extra long chapter to make up for not posting for the last few days. I had successfully backed myself into a corner. By writing Loren's POV on the latest events, I got carried away (again) and had written not only her view on the evening, but also on how her friendship with Harm had started and evolved. And then couldn't stuff it all into one chapter to just write it up and move on, thus have to write multiple chapters. Since I had to complete her POV I couldn't just break it off when I had a writer's block for almost every other chapter, but had to perserve until I finished it.

I am no sure if I'll write Harm's POV on it all, perhaps just for the evening, because if I do, then the fic will still be posting by the time Christmas comes around and that would just not do.

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**Gilda**: Hallo! Du musst nicht in Englisch einen Review schreiben, ich verstehe Deutsch auch, aber ich bin dir dankbar dass du es getan hast. Ich bin dir fuer diene nette Worten sehr dankbar, es macht mir Freude dass du meine Geschichten magst. Dass meine Geschichten dich zu einer anderen Meinung ueber nicht-Harm/Mac Paarung gebracht haben ist fuer mich dass hoechste Kompliment dass ich mir je vorstellen kann. Danke! Ich werde definitiv noch weiter Harm/Loren Geschichten schreiben, darauf kannst du dich verlassen. Solang bis ich Ideen habe, werde ich schreiben.

Danke fuer deinen Review, Gilda, und habe eine schoenen Tag!

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**neon007: **we'll get to the relationship part, don't worry, but unfortunately the focus of this fic is not on them being involved, but on how they get to that part and on Loren's battle for Harm's heart, with Mac and with his fear of having yet another friendship destroyed by UST. I'll try to shorten the AN's in the future. Thanks for the review!

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**Syrae: **I'm definitely a sap, and damn proud of it. More in my PM to you. Thanks for the review!

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**michelcz: **if the fic is still going on during X-Mas, I'll definitely be updating. I'm glad that my stories are a way to relieve stress, that means I have succeeded in my objective. Which is one of the reasons why I don't write Tragedy or character death or something as depressing as that and why my couples ALWAYS end up together, no matter how mushy and sappy their road may be. Real life is stressful as it is, fiction should be a way to escape from it for a while and forget about the stress and worries, not just add to it. At least that's my opinion. Thanks for your review and enjoy this new part!

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**starryeyes10: **Thanks for your review and enjoy this new part!

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Her ruminations were interrupted by Harm asking her to dance. He was standing by her chair and holding a hand out to her, making her giggle at his so formal request.

She never noticed the raised eyebrows and baffled, curious looks the others were sending them.

She just smiled brightly, causing even more puzzlement among their co-workers, and accepted.

Loren placed her hand in his and he grasped it gently, tugging at it. She followed his silent instructions and rose to her feet.

They walked towards the dance floor in silence, still holding each other by their hands.

Once there Harm drew her into his arms and she relaxed in his embrace immediately.

Since this was a bar and not an official ball, with all those stuffy rules of conduct, propriety, 'proper' distance between dance partners and all that crap, they felt no need to maintain the 'proper' distance from each other of 1 foot.

Their bodies were touching, but they weren't smashed against each other. It was obvious to everyone from the way they held each other that they were friends, close friends, but not lovers.

It was a good thing they weren't smashed against each other, because that way their hips weren't touching and thus the reaction Harm's body had on feeling Loren's full breasts, with their hard nipples, brushing against his chest, was left undiscovered by Loren.

He could just imagine the teasing she would subject him to were she to realize what she was doing to him. He would never live it down.

Loren had, in the meantime, leaned her head on his chest and just enjoyed the feeling of holding a strong, warm body in her arms. At least for a few minutes she could pretend she wasn't lonely and that she didn't have anyone to hold on to during the nights, no-one to love, no-one to make love to.

She studiously ignored the truth that the fact that it was Harm's body, that she was holding on to, that made all the difference. She wouldn't have been comfortable holding any other man she knew so close to herself.

After having had really bad, bad luck with men she had closed herself off from them, refusing to trust another man ever again. This mistrust still held, for any other man, except for Harm.

She drew her head back from his chest briefly, causing him to raise an eyebrow questioningly at her, asking what was wrong. She shook her head briefly, to dispell his worry and continue staring into his eyes.

'This is my friend. I trust him implicitly. The only man I trust. And I know he would never hurt me.'

She sighed in happiness and returned her head back to it's proper place.

She shivered briefly as Harm started drawing designs on the small of her back, his fingers leaving scorching lines after them.

Why did this man, who was just a friend, best and closest friend, but just a friend nonetheless, have so much power over her?

She sighed contentedly again and closed her eyes, burrowing her face in his chest.

She inhaled his scent, a scent that she couldn't describe of what it consisted, it was just _him_, and it calmed her, making her practically drowsy.

She felt as if she could fall asleep right there in his arms, she felt that comfortable. Comfortable, warm, safe, happy, cozy and cared for.

Then _the_ song started.

She had always loved Clapton's works, their same taste in music was just one of the things that drew her and Harm together. Harm was also a blues fan himself and sometimes they would just sit in his apartment and he would play the guitar and sing to her. Many a quiet evening passed that way, after they were done with the work they had brought with them and relaxed. They had even gone to a couple of concerts together.

Once he had surprised her with tickets to a Clapton's, sold out weeks-before, concert as one of his gifts for her birthday.

After she was done squealing in glee (extremely few things would make her squeal, she had always tried to tone down on any girly stereotypes, but getting tickets for a Clapton concert as a birthday present was a sure way for her to lose all restraint and squeal her head off. Even more so because she had tried to use every single one of her connections and had still failed to get her hands on them, they'd been sold out weeks before.), she grabbed Harm, who was still dazed from the loud noise, and pulled him to her, pressing a firm kiss to his lips.

She was still so high on endorphins that she took advantage of his surprised gasp and slipped her tongue into his mouth.

Sharp jolts of immediate and surprisingly strong arousal went through her body then, breaking her out of her gift-induced euphoria, making her realize just what exactly she had done. The strength of the effect of the kiss stunning her even more.

She stiffened and slowly pulled away from him, just as he was starting to respond. She knew she was blushing fire-engine-red and, when she looked at him, his eyes were glazed over and a deep flush permeated his skin. She surmissed that it was from embarrassment. She jumped to conclusions...

Their friendship won out and they'd overcome the awkwardness, induced by the kiss, and the sudden outpouring of emotion that one innocent kiss had awakened. They'd silently decided to forget and ignore the kiss and everything it had brought forth. The kiss was left undiscussed, but neither could ever forget it.

Neither was prepared to deal with those strong, until then, pushed away emotions at that time, but as Loren gazed into his eyes as they danced, she was becoming more and more sure that the time, when she would be prepared to deal and act on those emotions, was not that far away anymore.

She didn't know what those feelings were, she had never felt them before, so she put them into the box she was must sure they belonged into... deep, abiding, unconditional friendship.

And as she gazed into his eyes, as they danced, she saw the effect the lyrics had on Harm.

She saw in his eyes that he was aware also that the lyrics described the two of them almost perfectly, with just one difference.

They weren't lovers, they were just friends.

Best possible and imaginable friends, but still friends.

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	22. Chapter 22

**AN:** okay, I have finally managed to write the last POV that was needed. I intended to avoid writing Harm's POV, but had to do it, since the fic needed his POV.

This is also the last chapter I intend to add to this fic, a fic that was finished before I even started posting it, and then added some chapters when inspired by reviews. I don't intend to write any more and with tomorrow the rest of the fic, as it was, will resume to be posted.

I had thought of cutting this chapter in half since it's so long, but decided against it, because I am as anxious to get back into the action as everyone else. Besides, I have to make up for letting you wait for days for this part and this is the way I did it.

Tomorrow you are going to finally get the bathroom conversation between Mac and Loren and I hope you won't be disappointed. Remember, Mac won't come out looking like a monster.

So, enjoy and REVIEW!

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Harm looked at the woman in his arms.

He had never thought he would ever be in this place in life and yet, look at him, here he was.

Dancing closely with the woman very few liked.

'Oh, what kind of fools they are. They don't know what they're missing. Real, honest and strong friendship with a woman, who is more caring than she'd ever like to admit. Not to mention generous, giving and fun to be with. Besides also being very pleasing to the eyes. Yet, the weirdest thing is that she never takes advantage of it or uses her looks to get ahead. If she were the type to use her body to get ahead, she would've had the entire admiralty drooling at her feet. No matter how ambitious or aggressive she once was, she had never stooped so low. Even though I was doubtful at that time I've known now for months that she told me the truth that time, in my office: she never lies and she definitely didn't put those files in Mac's car. Had I known back then who she really is, I would've tried everything to be friends with her. Things would definitely be way different now.'

He remembered the first few weeks of their partnership. He had been tempted, more than once, to just strangle her, she had annoyed and frustrated him that much. But now, knowing her the way he did now, he knew she was just protecting herself, still keeping her mask of the Ice Queen on her face full-time.

Once he had seen through it, his whole perception of her changed and their friendship started for real. The times they'd spent off-duty were invaluable, for he got to slowly know Loren Singer. Not LT Singer, just Loren.

And he was surprised to realize that he genuinely liked Loren and wanted to be real friends with her, no matter what their professional situation was. Which is why he started arranging more and more of their evenings, at first on some neutral ground, like a restaurant, or a bar, then later at his apartment, or hers, if she offered.

Many times they didn't even pretend to get together because of work, they were both curious about the other and wanting to get to know each other.

Slowly, they'd learned private things, things only friends knew. What kind of food the other liked, how they liked their coffee, each other's dreams of the non-work-related future, their taste in music, literature, movies. He was quite surprised, and very pleased, to discover that she was a blues-fan and they spent many an evening just listening to CDs and discussing bands and singers.

Once he felt confident enough he even played his guitar and sang for her. She surprised him once when she started a duet with him, by revealing that her last name did her justice. She truly did have a lovely voice and could definitely sing. After they'd finished their first song together she'd shyly (he'd never thought he'd ever have to use that word to describe Loren) admitted that she was in the school choir when she was younger.

Harm knew he was as good as an amateur, who had never taken any lessons, could be, but Loren surpassed him. She had a great control over her voice and was able to modulate it from clear, high tones, to lower, husky and throaty ones, that sent shivers through his body. He knew, that if she ever used that voice on him, trying to seduce him; he would stand no chance of resisting.

He had out-grown casual sex and one night stands many years ago with Kate, when he couldn't stop ignoring how empty sex without love was anymore.

Because of that he knew that he wouldn't let sex get involved, in a form of a one night stand or the like, even if he had to remain celibate for the rest of his life. He had finally found true, closest friendship, that was most importantly healthy. It wasn't just him always accomodating the other person and him always giving to them, like his friendship with Mac was for the last few years (unlike the first few years of their frienship when they were equal); this time he not only gave, but also received, generously. And it was new and it was refreshing and he loved it.

The kiss didn't change much though, surprising as it was. He had used every contact he had to get his hands on those tickets and it was worth it when he saw Loren's eyes and face light up, a sunny, megawatt smile spread across her face and hear her squeal.

At first he almost had a stroke when she let out that high-pitched tone (later on, that squeal featured prominently in his dreams, but it was in a completely different situation, they both had no clothes on and she was stunningly beautiful under him, glistening with sweat and flushed with extreme arousal as she threw her head back and screamed... though Harm had managed to forget and ignore the existence of those dreams during the day, due to his considerable powers of denial, he couldn't escape from his subconscious at night, when he was once again faced with a lonely night in a cold, empty bed, with no-one to hold and cuddle.) and then she threw herself at him and shocked the living daylights out of him when she pulled him into that amazing kiss. He had just convinced himself that one little kiss wouldn't hurt them when she pulled back. He didn't want to admit how disappointed that had made him because of the multitude of feelings the kiss had unleashed inside him. But they both knew that in their friendship there was no room for such things and they had both silently agreed to forget it'd ever happened and move on with their friendship. Well, at least the kiss had confirmed his theory to him that her lips have to feel amazing when kissing, full, soft and naturally pouty.

Eventually they got back to the way things were and their friendship progressed. They even occasionally went out dancing together.

There were no hit-me-over-the-head-with-it reminders of the potential for more between them, until this JAG night.

He'd stopped breathing for quite a while when she opened the door and let him see her in that dress. He was suddenly faced with the reality of her magnificent body and it had reminded him of an old, WWII movie with Cary Grant about a submarine on it's way to spy in the Tokyo bay. One sailor had described a woman with whom he had supposedly spent a night with (though later on in the movie his shipmates openly questioned everything he had told them): "She was built for speed, like a destroyer. But kinda compact too, like a submarine".

The statement was crass and definitely not politically correct, but it definitely fit Loren.

She was slim, but not Mac's lithe runner-type body-style, and she was definitely ALL woman, plenty of just the right curves that would make a man's heart racing. No excess fat in sight, firm body, generous chest and graceful curves. What surprised Harm was the fact, that even though in the past he had always been attracted to tall women because of his height and because of his back problems (leaning down too far down to kiss or hug a woman or hold her while dancing can be a witch to his back and neck with his history of back injuries), the fact that even though Loren was quite petite compared to them, she was still immensely attractive to him and her height didn't bother him in the least. She wasn't as tall as Mac, much less Meg who was even taller than Mac and was almost his height when wearing heels, but her body could easily compare with Mac's in pure sexual appeal and seductivness.

When he had managed to get his breathing under control and stopped his head from spinning, he, like the gentleman he was, helped her into her coat, revelling in the feel of her soft, silky hair in his hands as he pulled it out of the collar. He couldn't help himself but sneak glances at her during the drive over to the bar, unaware of the admiring and appreciative glances she kept sending him. He had realized only after seeing their co-workers' expressions that they were color-matched. He successfully managed to hide a blush at the realization and acted as if nothing was wrong, all the while aware of Mac's glare on them. Leading her towards the booth he was aware of the lust-filled stares she was receiving from men in the bar and had assumed she slipped her arm around him because she felt uncomfortable because of them. He slipped his own arm around her, held her tight and sent warning glares to other men, forcing them to look away.

During the time they'd spent at the table he was always aware of her presence, his body tuned intimately to her, sensing every breath she took, every movement she made.

He knew she liked to dance and he wanted to dance too, so he asked her to dance and she'd accepted.

Later, when Clapton's song came on and they were looking into each other's eyes, he was completely aware that that could be them the song was talking about and not about Clapton and his ex-wife. With just one exception.

He and Loren were just friends.

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	23. Chapter 23

**AN: **I'll be updating earlier because this is so short, the next one is much longer, still 2 reviews needed for new part. As I've mentioned many times before, I couldn't have Mac do anything else, without turning her into a monster, which means that threatening Loren's career and freedom was out.

Thank you for your reviews, it doesn't take much effort to review, but it means a lot to me.

The main parts of the fic will be coming soon.

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Mac stepped inside, immediately locating Loren standing before a mirror, fixing her make-up.

She waited until the woman who had been until then puking her guts out into a toilet had finished her business, washed out her mouth and left the bathroom. In the back of her mind she recognized Seaman Sandra Challenger and it puzzled her because the woman had not had even a drink the whole evening. But then she dismissed the thought, for she had more serious things to tend to.

Walking over to her with a determined step she stopped behind Loren, waiting for the other woman to acknowledge her.

Loren just continued fixing her make-up, completely ignoring the, seriously angry, woman behind her.

Finally, Mac had had enough. "Lieutenant!" she hissed menacingly.

Loren still ignored her.

"LT!"

Still nothing.

Finally Mac grabbed Loren by her shoulder and forcibly turned her around. "LT!"

Loren widened her eyes innocently. "Oh, you mean me?"

"Yes, you. I could have you down for insubordination." growled Mac.

"No, you couldn't." smiled Loren sweetly. "You see, Miss Mackenzie, I'm off duty and definitely not in uniform. And when I'm off duty and out of my uniform you can't give me orders, demand that I respond to your calling me 'Lieutenant', nor can you charge me with insubordination. So, unless you call me by my name, I'll just continue ignoring you."

Mac stood with her mouth gaping open, not believing that she had just been dressed down by a junior officer. Which made her even angrier was that Loren was in the right.

She got into Loren's face, completely failing to intimidate the younger woman. Loren just smiled serenely, and not a little mockingly. "Now listen to me, 'Singer', I know what you're doing and it won't work. I want you to stay away from Harm. I don't want you anywhere near him. Got that?"

Loren looked her in the eyes, her own suddenly becoming hard like steel and ice cold. "You sure you really know what I'm doing? I doubt it. But I'm going to tell you anyway. I'm helping him pick up the pieces of his heart, that the last 2 years of your abuse of him had caused. Even after so many months he's still not fully healed. That's what I'm doing. I'm protecting him from you and I will continue to do so, until he can do it himself."

"You stay away from him, he's mine." hissed Mac.

Having said her piece she turned on her heels and left.

Loren just stared after her, shaking her head.

She then sighed, packed up her things and left the room, only to groan when she saw something.

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AN: the thing about uniform and obeying orders is true (at least in our military). One of the first things our Captain had explained to us was that the MPs and any other military personnel can't order us around when we were in civilian clothes.


	24. Chapter 24

**AN: **as promised, the next part early. See what you get for reviewing?

Now we're getting to the core of this fic and it's going to get even more interesting than this part.

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Harm looked warily at Mac as she came from the direction of the ladies room and wanted to sit down in the seat next to him.

Quickly he stopped her, otherwise there would've been hell to pay later. "Sorry, Mac, this is Loren's seat."

She stopped and her eyes narrowed at him, daring him. He stared back, not giving in.

With an angry huff Mac settled into the seat she had been occupying the whole evening and was quiet. Behind Mac Harm noticed a strange display going on. Two people, he recalled their names were Seamen Waters and Challenger, were hugging, kissing and crying at the same time. What the hell was that all about? Even though the young woman looked kinda green, she participated fully and seemed to have a relieved, happy and loving expression on her face. 'What is going on there?'

But the feel of Mac's glare on his body dragged his attention back to the matter at hand. Sturgis, Bud, Harriet, Tiner and Cheggwidden noticed the tension, but said nothing and continued to converse with each other loudly.

Finally Loren arrived, settled into her seat, leaned against Harm and looked at him pleadingly.

Harm looked at her, his eyebrow raised and exhaled exasperatedly when she nodded. Groaning, he pulled a simple gold ring out of his wallet and put it on. Then he put his arm over Loren's shoulders and drew her closer into his body.

The others went quiet, stunned, awaiting an explanation, especially Cheggwidden, who was sending questioning looks to them, glancing at their matching rings and then at them.

"Something you two wish to tell me?" he asked, but Harm was prevented from answering by the arrival of a light-brown haired man, of medium height, but with the build of someone who'd spent hours in the gym.

"Hey baby, where did you run off to? Why won't you let me buy you a drink? We could go somewhere and have a party of our own?"

Every eye at the table was rivetted at the display before them.

The young man was quite insistent and Harm looked like he was getting ready for a fight, muscles tensing and bunching, while Loren glared at the man and snuggled in closer to Harm.

Harm finally had had enough and rose, gently disengaging Loren's arms from around himself.

"This is the man that's been bothering you, honey?" he asked, gesturing towards the man.

Loren nodded, to the surprise of their friends suddenly turning into a woman in need of a man to protect her, completely different from her real self.

Their friends couldn't make out if this was an act or was he really her possessive boyfriend. The Admiral's eyes narrowed at the possibility, if Harm and Loren had gotten involved without telling him, there would be hell to pay! Mac was feeling quite pleased, it looked like LT Witch had finally done something that could seriously endanger her career. And if Harm was stupid enough to have married the bitchy LT, then he should be punished also! This wasn't about Harm anymore, this was personal, this was about getting even with the blonde woman.

The guy flushed angrily and turned towards Harm, who rose to his full 6' 4", easily towering over the shorter man. But anger makes people stupid and going up against a much taller, heavier and obviously stronger man was indeed stupid.

"Who the hell are you?" he spat out, puffing out his chest.

"I'm her husband and I suggest you turn around now and walk away." Harm said with a low, dangerous tone.

"Yeah? And what if I don't?" the airheaded youth asked waspishly.

"You really don't want to go against a man with over 20 years of Special Ops training and experience, kid." Harm said, trying to convince the fool to give up before he was taught a much-needed lesson.

"Yeah, right." the man laughed mockingly.

Cheggwidden saw Harm's body tensing and stepped in, trying to prevent hours of paperwork that would result from one of his officers having beat up, no matter how justified, a civilian.

He stepped in and pushed his military ID into the young man's face. "I suggest you listen to him, kid. He's got every training imaginable and can easily beat me in a hand-to-hand."

The young peacock finally glanced at the military ID and his eyes widened at the rank and position written there.

"Besides, we're all lawyers here, including his wife. So, unless you wish to be beaten into a pulp by him and then sued by his wife, I suggest you leave."

The challenger digested the Admiral's words and turned around, leaving without a word.

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AN: you know what to do... read and review!


	25. Chapter 25

**AN:** many of you were thrown for a loop by the married thing, this chapter contains the answer to your questions.

Thanks for the reviews, I hope the reality of their 'marriage' isn't too unrealistic and disappointing or anything like that. Okay, I know it's a little unrealistic, but I think real friends would go to that extreme for each other. Especially if they knew how bothered the other is by unwanted advances.

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Cheggwidden put away his ID, while Harm sat next to Loren again and they smiled at Cheggwidden gratefully.

"Thank you for going along with this, sir." said Loren, smiling. Nobody could believe just how the smile tranformed her from the LT they knew into a beautiful, vibrant young woman, happy with her life.

"So this was all an act? You have nothing you wish to tell me? Something like a marriage?" asked Cheggwidden, looking for confirmation.

"This was all just an act, sir. There's nothing between us but close friendship." assured him Harm.

"You two looked like you knew just what to do. Have you been getting much practice?" finally asked Bud, who couldn't keep it in any longer.

"You have no idea, Bud." Harm said tiredly, shaking his head. Loren just smirked at him. "Loren's like a man-magnet. Everywhere she goes guys just start trying to pick her up."

"Hey!" she exclaimed indignantly, but he just ignored her protest.

"But why the act? She is fully capable of saying 'no' to them herself." said Cheggwidden.

"They just ignore her rejections. And after that one time when we got kicked out and banned from another bar just because she broke the nose of a sleazeball, who just didn't take no for an answer, it was decided that I should try to intimidate them into leaving her alone, instead of her beating them up and getting us kicked out. By now it's pretty much SOP for us to keep up the act, almost everywhere we go together. You have no idea what I've been called by some of those jerks. Pops, old man, grandpa, relic,..."

The others snickered.

"What about the rings? Cause it sure gives off the impression that you're lying to me and you've gotten married. You both know the frat regs." pleaded Cheggwidden, in fear of a headache.

"No, sir, we're not lying and we are not married." affirmed Loren. "We know the regs and we wouldn't break them."

"That's good to know." exhaled the Admiral, finally relieved.

"The rings were actually Loren's idea." explained Harm. "She even bought them herself. You should've seen the look on the face of the cashier of that jewelry store." he and Loren shared a laugh.

Then Loren widened her eyes, to indicate a stunned look, and squeaked in a high voice. "You're not getting married and you're still buying wedding rings, ma'am?"

The imitation was perfect and the whole table errupted into peals of laughter, except for Mac, who was glaring.

"By trial and error we discovered that they give up sooner if I say that I'm Loren's husband than boyfriend. They seem to think that they can still replace me, that they still have a chance with Loren and that she would still dump me for them, if we're just dating. If we pretend to be married we are almost completely safe. But there are still some idiots, like the one from just minutes ago, who just can't give up. So, we have the rings with us everywhere we go." explained Harm.

"You're forgetting, Harm, how many times I had to rescue _you _from women who wanted you for dinner. And breakfast." grinned Loren.

Harm looked embarrassed. "Oh. Yeah. That's right."

"There was one time, before we decided to act as each other's spouses, when this redhead just came to him, while I was in the bathroom, took my seat and practically latched herself onto his arm!" started Loren, immediately getting everyone interested in the story. "The woman ignored all of his signals and just wouldn't stop. He looked so pitiful! He didn't want to cause a scene by telling her he wasn't interested nor did he want to hurt her with an outright rejection, but she ignored all of his signals. I think he was just about to run out of there and leave me behind by the point when I came back."

Loren stopped to take a sip of mineral water. Everyone then noticed that it was Harm's water that she was drinking, for she had already finished her own and was now drinking his. They were both sharing it, acting as if that was something completely normal.

"So? What happened then?" asked Harriet eagerly.

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AN: I think the scenario of them acting as if they were together, to ward off advances, is plausible. They are both attractive people and are sure to attract attention of other people, if it's obvious that they are single.


	26. Chapter 26

**Gilda:** Danke fuer deinen Review, Gilda! Ich muss sagen dass ich der selben Meinung bin wass Mac's Wissen ueber Harm's Geschichte mit Frauen angeht and dass sie es beruecksichtigen sollte als sie ihren Hinterhalt plannte.

**michelle UK:** as promised, here is the next part! Read, enjoy and review. Thanks for the review and take care!

**Syrae:** that's exactly the point I was trying to make. Are you, by any chance, reading my mind? LOL Thanks for the review and take care!

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"Then I walked to him, put my hand on his shoulder, so that my Academy ring was visible, making it look like an engagement ring, and said to her: 'Miss, you're hitting on my man. Please, remove yourself from him and leave because, contrary to my fiancee, I'm not afraid of causing a scene by forcibly removing you from his arm myself.' The woman let go of him so fast I only saw a blur of her arm. She then immediately left the bar with her friends. Harm was then left in peace for the rest of the evening."

Everyone laughed, easily picturing Harm with a whipped-puppy expression trying to convince the woman to let him go. This new side of Loren was so different from the one they'd known that she completely fascinated them.

"That's when I came up with the 'married' idea, though I didn't share it with him for some time. Usually we put the rings on before we enter a bar or something, but we forgot today. Most of the time people leave us alone when the harrassed party shows the ring, but sometimes some just can't take a 'no'." explained Loren.

"Sounds like you two have spent a lot of off-duty time together, with just the two of you." Cheggwidden hinted subtly.

Harm glanced at him, catching what he'd meant. "Sir, until we became partners we didn't know each other well. And two people can't work effectively as partners if they don't know each other. To that effect we spend a lot of time together off duty, getting to know each other and working intensely on our friendship. These past few years I've realized that meaningful, close friendship are high-maintenance and that, if not constantly worked on, they will fall into disrepair and the bond will fray until there is nothing left. Which is why it was a conscious decision on both parts to make this friendship the highest high-maintenance possible. I think we've proven over the past few months that this tactic's been working."

"That you have." confirmed Cheggwidden, while Mac was hit by the sudden realization that Harm was completely right, that they had allowed their friendship to wither and die, with her taking most of the blame, because of how she'd acted towards him whenever he'd tried to become a part of her private life again. He had tried to work on fixing their friendship, but she was too sensitive about it, about her relationship with Brumby, so she took his every action and word as a precursor to an assault and decided that an pre-emptive strike, no matter how unjustified and unprovoked, was the best option. Which had lead her to slowly, but surely, destroying the bond that they'd once shared, her insistence that he be there for her wedding to another man a prominent proof.

She was broken out of her thoughts when Cheggwidden continued.

"Your act was also very convincing. You had _me _fooled. I thought that you had gotten married, or were just dating and didn't tell me. I would appreciate a heads-up when it happens for real. I don't want to have to give you to your co-workers as a case of fraternization."

Harm and Loren just looked at him, shocked over his use of the word 'when' and not 'if'. It sounded as if he believed that it would happen, just being a matter of time

Harm and Loren looked at each other. 'When the hell have we given people the impression that we have that kind of relationship?'

Stunned, they couldn't think of anything else to say to their CO but "Yes, sir.", which just made others gape and Mac glare.

Harm incidentally glanced her way and her glare made him gulp and instinctively move away from the threat, her, which had him move closer to Loren, making Mac glare even harder.

Unknown to him, Loren moved closer to him and glared defiantly at Mac, daring her to say something, making it clear that she would stand by what she'd said to her in the ladies room.

No matter what.

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Don't forget to review!


	27. Chapter 27

It still puzzled Loren why she wanted to protect Harm so much. 'When did I start to care about him at all? When did I start to not want him to be hurt, emotionally or physically, ever again? When did I become willing to do anything to prevent him being hurt again, even if it means going against LtCol Mackenzie? What happened to me? What happened to the woman who was obssessed only with climbing up the ladder? When did he become important to me, his well being? Is this because of our friendship? Did our friendship change me so much? Do I even care if it did? No, I don't. And if it means protecting Harm from being hurt again then the LtCol will just have to give in to the fact that I'll be running interference for as long as it's needed. For the first time in my life I have a true friend, someone who likes me and would do anything for me, and I don't want to lose him for anything.'

Which is why she had placed her hand gently on Harm's back, first feeling him jump a little at the unexpected contact, but then relax at the comforting feel. Satisfied that Harm hadn't withdrawn she gathered up all of her determination and looked at Mac, having her eyes portray everything she wanted to tell the other woman.

Mac stared at her for a long while, but then deflated and nodded, acknowledging Loren's intentions, her place in Harm's life and her unspoken claim on him. Mac had finally realized that she had lost, her careless, hurtful and cruel words and actions from the past few years having cost her the best friend she had ever had. Her actions and her impatience and unwillingness to wait for Harm having cost her the chance for true happiness. Now she had to come to terms with the fact that she had lost every special position in Harm's life that she'd once had, even if he wasn't aware of it yet, and this knowledge hurt. What hurt more was the fact that she had no-one but herself to blame. A better woman had come in, saw something of value and had not pushed away, instead sticking with Harm through thick and thin, and helping him repair his life and his heart, being a true friend to him and earning the title of his best friend and later on, earning a claim on him. All things Mac had once had, but had intentionally, carelessly and callously thrown away years ago when she'd chosen another man over Harm and then proceeded to show him vindictively, with the sole intention to hurt Harm as much as possible for his rejection of her, when she made out with Brumby in front of Harm at the Sydney airport. Mac was broken-hearted also because she had to admit to herself that she hadn't deserved him since he left for flying, she took him for granted and now she'd lost him forever.

Whether Harm and Loren were just friends or not, Loren had made it clear that she held a claim on Harm and only the women she believed would not hurt him, would be allowed near him. Loren didn't know where this fierce protectiveness over him came from, but she knew that it was a fact and it didn't matter 'how' or 'why'. It was just there and won't ever go away. She'd finally found a true friend and would never let him go.

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Thankfully the others at the table had started talking among each other by that time, so these important developments went by unnoticed by others.

Mostly.

Harriet, being the perceptive, observant and intelligent woman that she was, understood what had just taken place and could not believe Mac had given Harm up that easily. Yet, it was true.

The "Battle for Harm" was finally over.

And the winner was a newcomer, someone no-one could've had predicted even in thousand years. Loren Singer had managed to, figuratively, beat Sarah Mackenzie into submission and into giving up her quest to conquer Harmon Rabb, Jr..

On one hand was Harriet glad that the nefarious dance was finally over, that peace could once again reign in the office and that the destructive tension between the two former partners was finally over. Harm was obviously making every effort of moving on with his life and Mac's return had almost caused a relapse into their former tug-of-war. It would've had done exactly that had there not been Loren and his friendship with her.

Loren had recognized exactly what was happening and had stepped in to prevent it. She cared too much about her friend to let him be hurt by Mac again, to let her shatter his heart again. In Loren's opinion it was obvious that these two would never get together, also obvious that they were not the soulmates everyone had thought them to be, because, if they were, they would've gotten together long ago and all the fights, issues, bad blood, resentments and the damage to their once-so-strong friendship would never have happened. And if they were soulmates, then they would be nearly identical in personalities and way of thinking. But they weren't, proof of it being how many times they disagreed on something, like their cases or even something personal. They couldn't be soulmates, being that different. The circle would've gone on, Mac getting involved with other men, she had a recorded history of office trysts, with men whom she worked with at one time, and Harm with other women as a reaction to Mac's affairs, as it was with Renee. Harriet couldn't really imagine the older woman getting involved with Turner, so the only person left was Webb.

She shuddered in disgust at that thought and image. She had met the sleazy spook several times and after every time she felt like she needed to wash her hands, with the kind of soap mechanics use against grease, at least. He was a womanizer and she couldn't believe the stupidity of women who had gotten, and were still getting, involved with him, especially those expecting some kind of commitment from him. She could see Mac getting involved with him only as some kind of revenge or a statement to Harm. But Mac would never stoop that low, would she?

On the other hand, Harriet was a romantic who had believed for a long time that Harm and Mac were meant to be and the realization, that they were not, hurt. Not just a little, either. She had wanted the two people, who had matchmade her and Bud, to be together also and the reality that that would never happen was saddening.

'But I guess it's better that it never happened than them parting in anger and hate, that it now seems as it would some day inevitably happen.' sighed Harriet internally.

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I'm serious, people, REVIEW!


	28. Chapter 28

This one's so short because the next part is a whole new scene that has to be taken separately and is longer.

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Loren looked at Harriet, somehow reading what the other woman was thinking, and Harriet sent her a nod and a smile.

Loren smiled gratefully at the other woman's silent approval, support and congratulations, feeling lighter now that she had the support of Harm's friends, and even more important, the support of the one woman who had always wanted Harm and Mac to get together.

Slowly she let her hand slip down Harm's back and over, until it rested on his hip, her arm around his back.

She could feel Harm, who was talking to Sturgis, Bud and Cheggwidden, telling them about a prank that he, Sturgis and Keeter had pulled at the Academy, stiffen as her hand travelled down his back. He thought she was going to grope his ass, and was just preparing to remove her hand when she slipped it around his body.

His talking faltered a little at the action, but he immediately recovered and continued on, as if nothing had happened, reciprocating the movement. The others didn't notice where their hands now rested because of the table that was in the way.

The rest of the evening passed by uneventfully, if you ignore one of Bud's inevitable slips.

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	29. Chapter 29

**AN**: I'M NOT UPDATING UNTIL I GET AT LEAST 3 REVIEWS.

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It was 2 hours later, or rather, 2 women for Harm and 3 guys for Loren later.

Harm and Loren both used their regular routine when a wanna-be suitor approached and asked for a dance or something more. Just a flash of one of the wedding rings was enough to make them go away.

Harm and Loren had danced a few times and once Harm had even danced with Mac.

Under Loren's watchful supervision.

But Mac behaved herself and maintained proper distance between her and Harm's bodies, not pressing against him as she had done when they danced in the past.

There was a small, wistful smile on her face during the dance, as if she was saying goodbye or letting go of something.

Later on she accepted the requests from other patrons, confirming the suspicion that she had decided to finally move on.

Mac was out dancing again and Harm had turned away another woman, who had been looking at him as if she was hungry and he was a particularly appetising meal.

This one was more persistant than the others, not taking his 'no', in the form of showing his ring, as an answer, but replied. "Since your wife isn't here, she won't know if you do it. What she won't know won't hurt her."

Harm was speechless at such a callous proposition, while Loren's anger flared and she decided to take matters into her own hands. This woman was obviously trouble and Loren wouldn't let her get anywhere near Harm. She obviously had no respect for the sanctitiy of marriage (at this point Loren had completely forgotten that she wasn't really married to Harm) and just wanted to score with the great-looking hunk. She turned on the woman with anger in her face and fire in her eyes, while everyone else just watched quietly, stunned at the woman's words.

"I _am _here and I would definitely know about it. I don't appreciate you hitting on my husband, when he's alredy told you 'no' and that he's married, but also to have the galls to suggest to him to cheat on me! Get out of my sight, you slut!" The woman had obviuosly not believed in the possibility that any of the women present could be Harm's wife, especially not a petite blonde. She herself was a tall, buxom brunette, Mac's type, she obviously believed Harm would be interested only in tall buxom brunettes, and Mac wasn't there so she thought his wife wasn't there. Which is why she was stunned by the fact that, not only was one of the present women his wife, but that she had propositioned the man in front of his wife and that she was now confronted with his, obviously very, angry wife. And Loren was certainly a terrifying sight, eyes flashing with rage and the force of her presence much greater than her body. She looked like a lioness ready to fight, defend her territory and property, and rip apart her opponent, instilling mortal fear into her enemy.

The woman backed away slowly and, seeing that the blonde had given her a chance to get away, turned and ran.

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REVIEW! Don't be lazy, it doesn't take any effort and it means a lot to me.


	30. Chapter 30

**AN: **again, 3 reviews for the next part. Those who have reviewed, thank you!

**qball:** sure, go ahead. Thanks for the review and enjoy this new part.

**jeff:** I hope the links I sent you will be helpful. Thanks for the review and enjoy this new part.

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Loren sat down slowly, anger still burning in her veins and an expression full of contempt for the woman on her face. She took a quick sip of their shared water to calm herself down.

The others were looking at her in respect and even a little fear, Mac secretly glad that she'd stopped her competition with Loren soon enough because the smaller woman was obviously a dangerous opponent and not telling how far Loren would've gone to protect Harm. Harm just looked on with an immensely proud grin and briefly hugged Loren with one arm in thanks for her response.

Then Bud made another one of his famous comments.

"Are you two going to buy new rings or use these when you get married, sir, ma'am?"

Harm and Loren stared at him in shock and others looked horrified by Bud's action, while Harriet cried out in dismay. "BUD!"

The Admiral finished drinking his beer and then calmly added. "I've been wondering myself."

"Sir!" gasped all of his subordinates, but no-one louder than Harm and Loren.

"I mean, you two've been acting like you're married the whole time we've been here. From what you've told us and what we could see for ourselves, this has been an established routine for many months now. You have SOPs (standard operating procedure) fully worked out. You wear wedding rings and tell everyone you're married. Both of you reject advances from everyone else, including highly attractive suitors, even though you are supposedly single. Btw., I don't know any single person who would reject such attractive suitors, if they weren't committed to someone already. You sit closely together, practically in each other's laps. You're constantly touching and seeking some sort of contact with each other. You dance with almost nobody else but each other or you don't dance at all. If you do dance with someone else, you first seek permission from the other. You even looked like "Wonderful Tonight" was about you two and not about Clapton and his ex. You've been drinking out of the same glass the whole night. I don't need to tell you how intimate and telling that is. You even give off the vibe that you're married. Hell, if I didn't know better, I would've sworn the gossip is true and you've been married for 10 years and have those 3 kids together!"

There were murmurs of agreement coming from their co-workers, while Harm and Loren just listened, bewildered.

"I would like it if you two would finally decide what you want to be. In fact, I'm making this an order. If you want to be just friends, then be just friends, without this pretending. If you want to turn this pretending into more, at least that's what it looks like, then get married for real and we'll work something out to avoid transfers and Court-Martials. Just decide for god's sakes, and soon, before some enemy of yours, and you both have many of them, sees you one day, decides to take advantage of it to remove you and you end up being prosecuted for fraternization."

He took a final swallow of his drink and then rose, commanding the others, while Harm and Loren were still in a daze. "Okay, people, we should go now, they're closing up the bar. Those who are on-duty tomorrow, you know who you are, have to get up early as it is. Rabb, Singer, think about what I've said. Think hard. On Monday you are either just friends, without this pretending crap, and I'll confiscate your rings against reimbursement, or you are in a relationship and we'll sit down and make arrangements. You have two whole days to think things over, don't waste them."

That said he put down his tab money, turned around and left the bar, with the rest of the staff following him.

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REVIEW!


	31. Chapter 31

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **there are only a couple more parts after this and then the fic is finished. Probably by Christmas.

I've got to say, this fic took a completely different direction than it was meant to. It was only supposed to be a short fic about Harm being Loren's mentor, then it got the final, biggest element with the short guy hitting on Loren, then the pretending idea came up, then the whole background of how close they were, then Loren and Mac's competition and then, of course, those chapters that were written while the fic was already being posted. And now it's my longest fic ever...

It holds my personal record in word count, posted chapters, longest time dedicated to it, number of reviews (for that I sincerely thank you) at 101 at the time I'm writing this, largest number of hits for my fics. Since there were so many reviews (thanks) I will reply personally instead of using this part.

Thanks again, read, enjoy and review!

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Harm and Loren were still staring after their fearless leader, not believing what had just taken place.

"What the hell has just happened here?" were Harm's first words after he had shaken off his stupor.

"I think the Admiral had just ordered us to either be 'just friends', which I thought we were being, or get married." said a shaken Loren. Never in her life had she received such an unusual order. 'Is that even legal?'

She voiced her thought out loud as they were putting money for their tab and tips on the table and getting ready to leave.

Harm helped her into her coat then pulled her long hair out of her collar. Then, with his arm around her waist, to keep her warm because it had gotten cold outside (at least that's what they told each other and themselves), he guided her out of the building.

He spoke up only after they'd stepped outside into the cold night.

"The weird thing is, yes, it is completely legal. Hell, if he believed that our friendship was affecting unit cohesion and the good order and discipline in the office, he would've been even obligated to order us to sort it out. But we're just friends, best friends, nothing more. Right?" he said.

"Right." confirmed Loren hesitantly, as if not being sure of the truth of the answer herself.

They were in the car, driving along almost deserted streets, when Loren finally spoke up.

"You know, maybe he's right." she said timidly.

"What?" Harm swerved from shock and almost hit a trash can. When he got the car back under control he turned to her.

"What did you say?"

She looked up at him, her eyes practically glowing in the light of the passing streetlights with intensity.

"What if he's right? Just think about it. This is not normal behaviour for friends. Have you ever behaved that way with the LtCol?" she took his silence as an answer. "Didn't think so. Now that I think about it, I know he's right. Seriously, do you know any single friends who pretend they're married just to throw off unwanted advances from other people, attractive people, and even have matching wedding rings, which they almost constantly wear!?"

His answer was a quiet "No."

"Exactly. I value our friendship over anything and everything else in my life. I've never had a friend like you and I definitely don't want to lose you nor our friendship. You've helped me come further than anyone or anything else before, as a person, woman, friend, lawyer and officer; for the first time in my adult life I really like myself, my life and where it's going, and all thanks to your influence. But what if they're right? I've never been so protective, and many times possessive, of anyone else before, especially not over a man. I've had only a few friends in my life, always had problems establishing friendships, and you and I became friends so quickly and so easily. You know everything there is to know about me and I know everything about you. Maybe the only ones we're fooling are ourselves."

"What do you mean?" Harm asked, his knuckles white on the steering wheel. Loren gently placed her hand on top of his and caressed it, her thumb rubbing across his knuckles soothingly.

"We're good together, Harm, very good." he was quiet, his agreement obvious.

"Maybe the Admiral and Roberts were right. Maybe we were subconsciously fooling ourselves, while being plainly obvious to others. I don't know how or when it happened, nor do I care, but somewhere along the way you've become the most important person in my life. Hell, if I'm being completely honest, I'd have to confess that I searched for this dress for hours just so I would look good to you, that's how much you and your opinion mean to me. And the only person I can think of being that important to me is the one with whom I can easily imagine spending the rest of my life with."

Harm had meanwhile stopped the car in front of Loren's building and sat there, thinking it over. Then he clasped her hand in his and started playing with her fingers. He quickly glanced at her comment about choosing her dress, taking in the sight, admiring the dress underneath her coat, admiring how it emphasized her seductive curves.

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	32. Chapter 32

**AN: **just two parts left. I have to say I feel sad at seeing this fic end. There's been some amazing feedback for it and I met quite a few amazing people through it. It's like a child of mine now and I'm heartbroken to see it leave to make it's own life. I know it's weird thinking of it like that, but I can't help myself.

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"I know what you mean. It's the same reason why I bought these completely new clothes, hoping that you would like them. It's just that I don't want to see another great friendship being destroyed by feelings. Mac and I had had a 'tension' between us since we first met and it gradually destroyed everything between us. I don't want that to happen to us. What we have is too precious."

"So, let's not destroy it. Lets stop pretending and wear these rings for real then." she finished with determination and not just a little bit of hope.

He turned stunned eyes on her. "What do you mean? What are you trying to say?"

"Why don't we stop pretending to be married and be married for real?"

"Married?" he was so stunned by her proposal that he could not form complicated sentences.

"Yeah. Don't you think we could work?" she asked with a challenging glint in her eyes.

"I... I.. Uh..." Harm was still too shocked to stop stuttering and form a coherent reply..

"Not only do we obviously find each other attractive in the sexual sense, but we've also got the best, most solid friendship as a basis for marriage. Many couples don't even have that, they base it only on attraction. I'm absolutely sure we would make it work." She was getting quite enthusiastic about it and Harm couldn't help himself but be pulled in by her enthusiasm.

"What about our partnership? We couldn't work together anymore and I love working with you. I enjoyed all the time we've spent together on duty, the time that was required of us to spend together. I don't want to lose that." then he was thoughtful for a while. "You know us being involved could also be cause for mistrial if we worked on cases together."

"It would've been different, though, if we were married, being completely above board, public, official,... It would be well known that we are together, cases assigned to us would be assigned with that knowledge, so no-one could say we're having an affair nor any could use our relationship to their own ends." she was getting more enthusiastic by the minute and was practically squirming in her seat.

"But that would mean getting immediately married, without dating. Are we ready for that?" questioned Harm.

"We already know each other fully. Dating is just a process to get to know your partner and find out if you're compatible, to weed out the wrong ones. We know each other already, and as much as anyone can know another person, and we also know we are compatible. Dating is not needed in our case."

"I just don't want us to rush into this. Marriage is a big thing. I don't want us seeking divorce, hating each other a few years down the line. You mean too much to me to want to rush into something, costing us each other in the end." he said.

Loren's eyes misted over at his heartfelt words. "We won't rush. Let's get married, we'll be able to continue working together and we'll be together. We'll just be dating at first even though we will be married and wait for a while with sex until we are comfortable in this new relationship. Everything will work out, you'll see. So, what do you say?"

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Harm was quiet for a long while during which they had entered her apartment and sat down on the couch, automatically snuggling together, the action feeling completely natural. Finally he said. "Know any good Justice of the Peace that works on a Saturday?"

Loren released the breath that she'd been holding for the last few minutes and a sunny smile broke through. "I think we'll find one with no problem. You know what I want us to do?"

"What?"

"Why don't we get married in these clothes? They've helped with making us see the light and thus they would make the perfect wedding clothes."

Harm couldn't help but once again admire her dress and the way it caressed her beautiful curves. His appreciative smile told her again how much he liked it and she knew there would be no problem initiating their physical relationship when the time came.

"You've got yourself a deal, beautiful. Now I'm going to have to go so I can get everything ready for tomorrow and that I put these clothes to air out. They smell like a bar."

He stood up and walked over to the door, Loren following.

There he turned, looked into her eyes and said. "Now I can finally do this." Then he captured her lips with his in a tender kiss, that soon turned into a passionate one.

Finally they parted, both breathless, and just stared into each other's eyes.

"Oh, yeah, we'll have no problem with this." murmured Loren.

Harm smiled a devilish grin, pecked her quickly on the nose and left her apartment, locking the door on the way out.

She stood there, still touching her lips, staring at the door.

'God, I feel like I'm a 16 year-old with a crush. But this is definitely much much much longer lasting than a crush. I'm definitely not letting this man, that brings out so many feelings and emotions in me with just a kiss, go ever again. He's stuck with me for life, whether he likes it or not.'

With that she turned and went to prepare for her big day.

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	33. Chapter 33

**AN: I'm not updating until I get AT LEAST 3 REVIEWS!**

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They entered the bullpen together on Monday morning, their rings prominently displayed, Loren also wearing an additional one, an antique-looking engagement ring.

The 'Rabb' on her uniform's name tags gave the game away. But she wouldn't want anything less.

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_"You sure you want to do this, Loren? If you don't want to, you don't have to." asked Harm, concerned._

_"I would be honored to carry your name, Harm, I want to take it. Besides, it will just make it easier for us to work together if it's immediately obvious that we're married. What is also important is that it won't be so confusing when we have kids and a source of torment from the other kids that their mother has a different name than they do." she said, completely sure and serious. _

_"Kids?" Harm asked dazed._

_"Of course. Not a hockey team, but 2 or 3 will do nicely." she replied as she watched a goofy smile take over Harm's face._

_The only answer he could muster was a scorching kiss that he bestowed upon her lips. _

_When she was finally able to speak again she added. "And I want to make it clear to every woman that meets you, that I am the one you chose and married, that you're mine and that these kisses belong only to me."_

_Harm quirked an eyebrow. "Possessive, aren't we?"_

_"Not that much. Only enough to make it clear that they should stay away."_

_"Then it's a good thing you'll be taking my name, cause I want the same to be known to other men. Don't worry, I won't ever be like one of those men who are insanely jealous or possessive and regard their women as possessions or objects."_

_She gave him a satisfied grin "Good, I never believed you were that type. I promise you the same."_

_"Good."_

_They smiled devilishly at each other once and turned to enter the JoP's office, when they were almost run over by two figures exiting the office with an enthusiastic haste._

_The two tornadoes stopped and apologized, then continued on their way, grins of happiness and love on their faces. Loren looked at Harm open-mouthed. "Was that..."_

_"... Seamen Waters and Challenger?" he completed her sentence. "I mean, Seamen Waters? Yeah, I think so. Well, what do you know... So, about-to-be LT Rabb, are you ready to get married?" he asked her, extending an arm towards their destination._

_"Yes, I am, CDR Rabb, in fact, I can't wait." she smiled, like the cat that ate the canary._

_They were called then and they resumed their steps, going to meet their destiny._

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	34. Chapter 34

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** I would like to thank you all for sticking with this fic, even though it took a few days for some new parts to be posted. It was a first for me: writing new chaps for an already finished and being posted fic. Won't be doing that again. Nonetheless, it was an amazing journey for me and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Jeff: I agree that your son should definitely have priority.

A big, unfortunately imaginary, christmas cookie to **Syrae** for correctly guessing and noticing the side plot with Sandra and John. The whole thing from Sandra being pregnant from their time in the storage closet forth. And for correctly guessing where Loren's ring come from. No-one else noticed that little flag that I put in.

I thought I would have another short fic finished by today and start posting it, since it's an X-mas fic, but no dice.

So, I'm leaving you with this and wishing you a **MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!**

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Cheggwidden came out of his office at the cheering and clapping and observed the scene.

Finally he had had enough and said. "Okay, people, get back to work. Congratulations, you two. Rabb and Si... Rabb?... follow me so we can discuss those arrangements." he turned and entered his office, almost being run over by the green-looking Seaman Sandra Waters, as she raced towards the bathrooms. He intercepted John Waters and told him that they were to meet him next, to take care of the arrangements, necessary to keep them both in the office. Then the happy husband and father-to-be was allowed to continue his race to the bathroom to assist his beautiful, pregnant wife.

Harm and Loren were meanwhile being personally congratulated by Mac, Bud, Harriet, Sturgis and a few other members on their way to his office.

They stopped before his door and turned to each other. "Ready?" asked Harm.

"Ready." said Loren and took his hand, squeezing it gently.

He squeezed her hand gently in return and they entered the Admiral's lair.

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30 YEARS LATER

Retired Admirals Harmon and Loren Rabb looked around the assembly, their eyes glowing with happiness.

It was their 30th wedding anniversary and they were even more in love now than they were back then, when they'd discovered only after a few days of marriage that they were each other's definite soulmates, truly having been made for each other.

After all these years Harm believed, more than ever before, that his idea of mentoring Loren was one of the best he had in his life. He knew that he would've made a terrible mistake had he not moved on with his life and continued pining for Mac. Nothing would ever have come out of that for him but pain, loneliness, misery and a broken heart. Mac had never been his soulmate and it took having his heart broken by her for him to finally find the one woman he was born to be with, his true soulmate. If alternate realities existed Harm was certain that, if they both did everything correctly, he and Loren were together in every single one of them. Even if they were not in the military and had completely different professions.

Like, say, being actors, for example.

Now he and the love of his lives looked around, seeing their children and grandchildren, their former co-workers, with the exception of Admiral Cheggwidden, who had passed away from natural causes 20 years ago, and they embraced each other with happiness.

They turned to each other and kissed gently, their love and passion still as strong as 29 years ago when it resulted in them creating the first of their three children.

In a storage closet at JAG. Later on they'd heard that many couples got pregnant in there, something to do with energy and waves and so on. Soon the storage closet became used primarily by couples who wanted to get pregnant and it worked every time. The brass never found out anything about it and former users of the room, who later became the brass, never did anything about it.

Their other two children were conceived in even more strange places, like the front seat of an F-14, when Harm and Loren engaged in a serious and in-depth study of the theory about the plane not having enough space (Keeter's claim and dare) and in their private stateroom's shower on an aircraft carrier where they were sent to investigate cases of smuggling. Being married and it being obvious in the rings and same last name gave them a lot of perks, like fully-allowed hot-bunking.

They were interrupted in their moment of bliss by 2 exasperated voices.

"Mom!" "Dad!" was heard from their children, who complained at their parents' behaviour.

"I mean, gross, seeing your parents make out." said their youngest one, Nanci, who looked like a younger clone of her mother.

"Yeah," chimed in her older brother, David. "You would think they would be over it by now."

"Oh, baby sister." said the oldest, Harmon III. as he draped his arm around his sister's shoulders playfully. "You'll understand it when you finally find 'the one', get married and have kids. It's called true love."

Nanci wrinkled her nose in a cute gesture, that was also passed down to her from her mother, and looked at their parents. She had to admit.

It really was true love.

THE END


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